At A Glance
by Psionic Knight
Summary: GoF-OotP: Hermione finds herself staring along with the boys at Beauxbatons' Fleur Delacour when she arrives... but unlike the boys, she wasn't drawn in by the thrall. What could this mean for Hermione, and just how will she deal with it? HG/FD Femslash
1. Confusion at a glance

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, well… this would have actually happened, and there would be less people to have died in the later books… well, less of the good guys anyway…

_**WARNING: CONTAINS FEMSLASH… IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, THEN DON'T READ IT!!**_

Authors Note: as you can see, this is a Harry Potter femslash fic starting in the fourth year. The stars of the 'show' are Fleur Delacour and Hermione Granger. I was considering a Ginny and Fleur fic, but decided against it because I don't think I can pull Ginny's personality off at the moment. Anyway, yeah, since this is the first story I plan on continuing, reviews of all sorts are appreciated. Anyway, on with the show!

Oh, and for the sake of comprehension: just imagine Fleur's accent. Some people can't comprehend what is said with the accent, and I like it when readers can read _and_ comprehend what I'm writing.

* * *

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_**Speaking entirely in French"**_

Narrative

* * *

_**At A Glance**_

_Chapter 1: Confusion at a glance_

* * *

"Ron? RON!" Hermione nearly yelled at her red headed companion "I'm trying to talk to you! Harry, give Ron a good…"

Taking a closer look at Harry alerted her of his own state of near-stupification. Hermione rolled her eyes. How was it that men could be entranced by someone's beauty so easily?

"I swear, how can you be entranced by a bunch of pretty girls?" Hermione scoffed as she turned to look at the Beauxbatons as the made their way to the Ravenclaw table "Honestly, can't you two find just show a shred of self-contro…"

She had followed the two boys' line of vision, glancing over to the Ravenclaw table to see the mass of light blue clothed blondes beginning to fill up the table. However, what she noticed along the way was that it wasn't just Harry and Ron who were awestruck; EVERY boy in the room was fixated on the Ravenclaw table. Furthermore, she noticed that it wasn't the girls that their eyes were fixated on.

All eyes were focused on one, single, girl… clearly a seventh year by her rather curvy and mature body, and was by far-

'_The most beautiful woman I have __**ever**__ seen…'_ Hermione thought as her mind seemed to grind to a halt as she too stared at the beautiful woman before her.

However, unlike the many males around her, Hermione seemed to come to the realization of what she was doing while her mind jumped from zero to sixty in a mere fraction of a second. Her eyes snapped open wide, her face lit up like a stoplight with a brilliant red blush, and she quickly turned herself back to the table in a desperate hope that _nobody_ saw what she did. Her heart was pounding as her mind forced her to remember the girl that had instantly caught the interest of the _entire_ school's male population… and herself.

'_What the bloody hell am I thinking?!'_ Hermione's supposed rational mind was screaming _'Where in the bloody hell did that… thought come from?! I must be going out of my mind…or I'm being hexed or something…'_

The announcements of the Goblet of Fire and whatnot held no interest to Hermione. She was too busy blushing madly and trying to get her thoughts straight to do anything worthwhile… such as pay attention. She even ended up ignoring Harry and Ron in her thoughts, only coming to when they shouted or nudged her to grab her attention. She was a wreck; what the hell was wrong with her?

"Hermione?" Ginny said in a concerned tone from beside her "Are you alright? You look a bit off…"

"I'm fine." Hermione insisted half-heartedly "…I think I might be catching something though…"

"Oh, you should probably see Madam Pomfrey then. It doesn't do well to miss classes after all." Ginny said, a weak smile accompanying her features "I'll go with you if you'd like."

"No thanks Ginny; I think I'll head up on my own instead." Hermione said as she pushed her plates away, but she never got the chance to move when her vision was filled with the light blue of the Beauxbatons uniform.

'_No… it couldn't be…'_ Hermione thought in a panic as she looked up to see just who it was _'Please don't let it be that one girl… please, oh please, oh-"_

Eyes snapped open to their widest again, and her face paled significantly as she came face to face with the woman that had been giving her mind such problems and distractions. If she had the opportunity to spontaneously cease to exist, she probably would have taken it now. The other girl on the other hand was smiling incessantly, and looked down at Hermione with a look that Hermione didn't quite recognize at the moment.

"Oh, desole." the older girl said as she stepped to the side "You were leaving, non?"

"Y-yeah. I was just… yeah… leaving." Hermione managed to stammer out as she got to her feet.

Manners seemingly forgotten, Hermione quickly made her way out of the dining hall. She didn't notice that she was being watched though, and by more than one person at that.

* * *

_**At the tower…**_

* * *

She had been laying in her bed for over an hour now, thinking over what exactly had happened back there in the dining hall. It didn't make sense! How was it that Hermione was reduced, at least for a short while, to a blithering idiot because she _saw_ a girl that was very, very attractive. A girl with beautiful, platinum blonde hair… and a body to absolutely die-

"AAAHHH!!" Hermione screamed in frustration as she thrust her head into her pillow "Bugger off you damnable thoughts!"

The door to her room opened, and Hermione didn't even have to look up to know it was Ginny who had come in.

"You alright Hermione?" Ginny asked with concern "What did Madam Pomfrey say was wrong?"

'_Oh, yeah, that is what I told her I was going to do…'_ Hermione thought as she looked up from her pillow to see the young redhead.

"She said it was nothing; it was something from lunch that I ate." Hermione lied, a habit she had, both fortunately and unfortunately, picked up from Harry and Ron "I should be fine by tomorrow after everything settles."

Ginny looked at her for a moment in silence, then crossed her arms and smirked.

"You didn't go to Madam Pomfrey, did you?" she said coyly "You're still not so great at lying 'Mione."

"Uh… just go away Ginny." Hermione pleaded as she shoved her face back into the pillow "I'm just confused on something that happened earlier…"

"Oh? Maybe I can help." Ginny said as she sat down on the bed across from Hermione "What exactly was the problem?"

"Trust me, you couldn't help me if you-"

"Does this have to do with how you were gaping at that one girl from Beauxbatons?"

Hermione's head snapped up at that, her 'deer in headlights' look having been mastered earlier that evening. Ginny laughed a bit.

"Looks like I was right!" Ginny said happily "You were staring at that girl, Fleur, weren't you?"

'_Fleur? As in French for 'flower'?'_ Hermione thought absentmindedly before realizing that her silence was only confirming what Ginny said.

"I was not _gaping_ or anything of the sort!" Hermione said adamantly "I would never do such things, especially at a girl!"

"…but it still involves that Fleur girl, right?" Ginny said with another knowing smirk "You haven't denied anything yet, you know."

"I was _not_ staring at Fleur!" Hermione said angrily as she sat up in her bed to glare at Ginny "Do you even know what you're suggesting?!"

"Oh come now, even _I_ noticed how beautiful she was!" Ginny said as she rolled her eyes "That doesn't mean I'm going to go up and hit on her or whatnot."

"Still, I wasn't doing anything with any regard to her." Hermione said as she crossed her arms "I have no reason to go gawking at some girl just because she's pretty, and I certainly wouldn't have any other reason either."

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" Ginny relented "I guess I shouldn't put much stock in the rumors-"

"Wait, rumors?" Hermione snapped, causing Ginny to wince as she realized her slip up "What rumors?"

Ginny laughed nervously as Hermione's eyes narrowed.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" she squeaked hurriedly "I'm just gonna go see if Harry and Ron-"

"What. Rumors?" Hermione asked as she stood from the bed and stepped right up close to Ginny.

"…well, there were some rumors going around near the end of last year regarding… your…" Ginny seemed to be looking for the least offensive word "…interests…"

"Interests? You mean my sexuality?" Hermione seemed to growl as her face slowly began to flush.

"Uh… yeah, basically." Ginny stated nervously as she backed on to her bed a bit more "They were just r-"

"What were they?"

"…well, a couple people mentioned how, even with as often as you hang around Harry and Ron, you've never shown interest in any guy beyond friendship." Ginny stated nervously once more "Some people kept going on about how you were simply focused on your schoolwork… but a couple people began suggesting that you… well… played for a different team."

"They were spreading _lies_ about me being a _lesbian_?!" Hermione began to yell "Who in the bloody hell was saying this?!"

"I don't know!" Ginny said as she put her hands up in a defensive manner "I'm sorry for assuming, but with how you were staring at her like all the guys were… and with some of the stories…"

"Ginny." Hermione interrupted calmly, though her eyes were ablaze with emotion.

"…yeah?"

"I. Am. Not. A. Lesbian." Hermione said sternly "I simply see _no_ need to deal with boys when I'm trying to focus on my schoolwork."

"Alright, I get it!" Ginny claimed, wanting to defuse the rest of the situation before problems were begot "I'm sorry I brought it up! It was just, you know, suspicious how you were acting…"

"Ginny for the last time: I am _not_ a lesbian! I do _not_ have a crush on that Fleur girl, and I absolutely was _not_ staring, gawking, admiring, gaping, or anything else!" Hermione shouted as she inched closer to Ginny, ending up close enough to feel the younger girls' breath "Unders-"

That moment was the time in which Lavender came in, freezing in place when she noticed Ginny on her bed, with Hermione intimately close to her and the two of them touching… but it wasn't their hands that were doing the touching. All three girls had the decency to blush profusely, and Hermione leapt backwards to her bed in an instant.

"It wasn't what you-" "She was just trying to-" "What the hell is going-" all three began, before all stopped and Hermione took a deep, calming breath.

"Lavender, I was not that close for… 'that' reason." Hermione said as calmly as possible "I was simply angry and was staring her down."

"…with Ginny nearly on her back and the two of you close enough to snog?" Lavender said, disbelieving of course.

"As odd as it seems… she's telling the truth." Ginny said as she stood up from the bed "I kinda… brought up a sore subject, it seems."

"…o-k… well then, I think I'm gonna head back down to the commons for a bit." Lavender said hurriedly as she shut the door.

Hermione let out a groan; this was not a good way to start the year after all. It would only get worse though before it got better... but alas, it _would_ get better eventually. First though, she needed to sleep… and think… which one would only be figured out later after she lay in bed for several hours attempting to perform one of the activities only to fail and opt for the other one.

* * *

Authors Note: Well… 'tis done. How was it? Please review, and offer suggestions for story ideas etc. if you would like to. All are appreciated, so long as the review/suggestion is not cruel/hateful, nor clearly a joke.


	2. Premises at a glance

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, well… yeah… lots o' stuff would be different… Harry would probably be a chick… and Hermione would be described as being more beautiful… and there'd be more relationships than just action/adventure… god I wish I owned Harry Potter… shakes fist at J. K. Rowling

Authors Note: Well, at the time of my starting this part, I have two reviews, both of which are positive and complimentary. I thank you who have complimented me, and as a reward, I'm continuing the story. I would have still continued it, but now I have more than just internal motivation to do it. Anyway, enough with the notes; on with the story!

* * *

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_**Speaking entirely in French"**_

Narrative

* * *

_**At A Glance**_

_Chapter 2: Premises at a glance_

* * *

Hermione felt utterly terrible. She hadn't slept that night… she more of, well, 'passed out for a prolonged length of time'. After all, sleep was normally refreshing; passing out royally sucked and tended to make the situation _worse_. If her brain had shut up, which she normally didn't wish it to do, then she might have been able to sleep. But no, she couldn't stop herself from thinking… about a certain French 'flower', that is.

Whether Ginny had known it or not, she had started a train of thought that was moving nonstop across the railroad of Hermione's mind. The rumors were what had gotten her mind going, and upon asking Ginny, and later Ron and Harry, what they had heard, she had realized that, though false, a lot of the rumors were based on fact. Well, more or less on fact anyway. True, she hadn't dated anyone, nor did she show interest in any boy so far. She was not bothered by hanging around and being 'one of the guys' with Ron and Harry. True, she did seem a bit closer to Ginny than most others, but then again, Harry and Ron were close, and she was sure as hell that they weren't dating.

However, none of those things necessarily meant she was gay. Sure, she was more tomboyish, but so was Ginny, more than herself in fact, and nobody had thought she was a lesbian stereotype or whatnot. Then again, Ginny was rather infatuated with Harry… and it was also rather obvious. Hermione was a bit harsher on guys when it came to their actions, she concluded, but that didn't necessarily mean she favored the fairer of the sexes. It simply meant that she was hanging around boys like Ron and Harry too much, as they had a rather professional tendency to get into trouble and do outrageously stupid things. Still, Hermione saw how it could possibly be taken the wrong way, but even then she could have never conceived the idea that those minor things could hint at something like the one rumor she heard about her and some Slytherin girl whose name she couldn't even place. Even _thinking_ about that particular rumor made her cringe and shiver in absolute disgust.

Still, none of those things bothered her like the thoughts about Fleur did. The other concerns made sense, and didn't really impact her _that_ much. She didn't care that much about trivial school-day reputations… unless it was a record of deviance and disorder and the like that would plague her for the rest of her life. But the thoughts, and occasional daydreams and dreams, she'd had about Fleur throughout the day were not 'rational' in the slightest. She had seen the girl twice, _twice_, and she was daydreaming about her like she was dreaming about a-

'_NO! I'm not even going to _think_ that word!'_ Hermione stopped herself as she tried to focus back on her arithmancy _'Now, given x for the primary archaic algorithm… wow… this is going to be long… Fleur had some nice, long legs…'_

"Bugger!" Hermione shouted aloud, slamming her hand on her pseudo-desk and bothering everyone in the Gryffindor commons from their work, conversations, and games.

"You all right there Hermione?" Harry asked from his place on the losing end of a wizard chess board "You've been like this all day."

"I don't think I've been shouting out random curses all day, thank you very much." Hermione said with a frown, clearly missing the point in her anger.

"Actually, I meant that you've been, well, distracted. Hell, you didn't even answer any of the questions in Moody's class, and you've yet to… 'ask'… anyone to join S.P.E.W." Harry explained.

"Thank god." Ron muttered at the latter part.

"I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well." Hermione stated as she went back to her arithmancy "I guess I'm not feeling that great as well."

A few moments passed in relative silence, except for the sound of movement behind Hermione. Then she saw a shadow over her right side and let out a sigh. Why did nobody listen to her when she said, or hinted at, the fact that she wanted to be alone?

"Yes Harry?"

"Hermione, does this have to do with what you asked Ron and I earlier?" Harry asked softly, careful not to raise his voice loud enough to catch anyone's attention.

Hermione was silent for a bit, then let out yet another sigh.

"Yes… well… somewhat." Hermione admitted "It's more complicated than just that…"

"That's not like you Hermione." Harry said as he sat against the table she was at "You've never let rumors and all that bollocks get to you before, when'd you start getting bothered by it?"

"I'm _not_ bothered by it." Hermione insisted rather firmly "I said 'it's more complicated than that' for a reason."

"Well, is there any way I can help out?" Harry asked politely.

"I'm quite alright; don't worry about me." Hermione insisted as she tried to focus on her arithmancy again "I'm more than capable of solving this… 'problem'."

"Alright then, but my offer still stands." Harry said with a small smile crossing his features "I wouldn't want one of my best mates to feel as though they _have_ to solve a problem like this on their own."

Mostly out of being polite, but also partly out of sincere gratitude, Hermione returned the smile.

"Thanks Harry."

"Oi! Harry! You ready to play again?" Ron called from the other end of the commons.

"Yeah, I'll be right there." Harry replied as he got up from his place at the tables edge, and made his way to the game he was certain he was going to lose at.

Hermione sighed again when he left, once again attempting to work on her arithmancy. However, she'd find that she couldn't stop thinking about _two_ things now: Fleur Delacour, and also her friends' advice… and more specifically, how they seemed to appear to know _exactly_ what she was thinking whenever they questioned her…

* * *

_**Later…**_

* * *

Hermione made sure she was facing the exact opposite way of the Ravenclaw table when it came time for dinner. Her mind was now aflutter with so many thoughts that even _she_ was having problems containing them. It wasn't as if their trip down to see Hagrid had made things any easier…

* * *

_**Flashback…**_

* * *

"Hermione, can I have a word with ya?" Hagrid had asked her as they began to make their way to the castle.

'_No… you have _got_ to be kidding me…'_ Hermione thought with a dreaded look that quickly disappeared as she turned to face Hagrid _'Hagrid too?'_

"Yes Hagrid?" she asked calmly as the two other boys left.

"Are ya feeling alright? Ya seemed to be lost to me for a few moments there." Hagrid asked quietly… or as quiet as he possibly could anyway "Anything ya need to talk 'bout?"

"No Hagrid, I'm _fine_." Hermione said, making sure to emphasize 'fine' rather heavily "Any problem I _could_ possibly have _would_ have been taken care of by now."

Unless she was mistaken, Hagrid seemed to pity her for a fleeting moment. It might have just been her imagination though.

"Alright then." He said with a weak smile similar to the one's she'd been getting rather frequently as he set an oversized hand on her shoulder "I just hope you come to grips with whatever _might_ be plaguing ya soon."

Hermione was unable to think of a reply, instead opting to stare at the half-giant as he walked up to the castle to 'accidentally' run into Madame Maxime.

* * *

_**End Flashback…**_

* * *

'_Does everyone at this school think I'm gay? Even my friends?'_ Hermione thought to herself rather angrily _'Next thing you know, Malfoy'll be coming up to insult me with a whole new slew insults about me being a lesbian… won't that be just one bloody good-'_

"-Hermione!" Ginny was shouting, shaking Hermione rather roughly from her own thoughts.

"Lord, Ginny! What's the problem?" Hermione hissed through her irritation.

"They're about to draw the competitors for the Triwizard tournament!" Ron explained as his gaze was focused on the Ravenclaw table at one person in particular "I bet Fleur's going to be the one for Beauxbatons…"

Despite her tries to stop herself, Hermione turned around ever so slightly, glancing back at the Ravenclaw table from the corner of her eye. She noticed a certain blonde girl, and much like Ron had pointed out at one point, she did have a sort of… inhuman beauty to her. It could have been veela, which would have explained why all the boys were so drawn to her.

'_But then, why was _I_ drawn to her? Why did I react that way? A veela's thrall has no effect on those of the same gender as the veela…'_ Hermione thought in confusion as she turned more to look at Fleur _'Well, at least that's what I _think_ I read about it...'_

After a moment though, she saw a pair of eyes meeting hers exactly, and after another moment Hermione realized that _Fleur was looking right back at her!_ Hermione's eyes shot open once more, and her face likened to a tomato as she saw the grin spread across the platinum blonde's face. She turned around to face a Harry who was suppressing a smirk that, luckily, went unnoticed by the thoroughly embarrassed and confused brunette.

"I think she just winked at me!" Ron said excitedly to their small group "Harry, did you see-"

"I _highly_ doubt she was winking at _you_." Hermione stated, her voice clearly that of irritation, despite her nearly overwhelming embarrassment.

Luckily Ron appeared to ignore her, simply choosing to stare at Fleur with a love-struck expression. For some reason though, Hermione found herself irritated by that, and not even entirely sure why. Had Hermione been paying attention to Harry and Ginny though, she might have seen that, after a fleeting smirk, they too glared at Ron, though for a different reason. It also didn't help that Fleur Delacour became Beauxbatons' Champion not too long after that. Viktor Krum became the Durmstrang Champion, and Cedric Diggory became the Hogwarts Champion. Then, all hell broke loose when a fourth name was called: Harry Potter.

* * *

_**Later…**_

* * *

Hermione couldn't sleep again; she knew that she'd eventually 'pass out' instead, but she couldn't just sit there and do nothing. Though it was at great risk to her permanent record, Hermione decided to leave the confines of Gryffindor tower, knowing that the Fat Lady wouldn't cause her any problems for leaving, or returning later. Silently, she made her way through the corridors to the grounds, where she sat in the cool air to try to ease her mind a bit.

She wasn't sure just how long she was out there before the sound of footsteps in the grass alerted her that she was caught, most likely by a teacher. She swore under her breath, and turned around slowly, starting to apologize as she did so.

"Professor, honestly, I-"

"You are that girl from last night, oui?" a soft, melodic French voice asked Hermione, who simply froze where she stood.

Before her stood a platinum blonde with beautiful blue eyes that were just slightly darker than the Beauxbatons uniform that she wore. The uniform was heavier than the first one Hermione had seen, but she didn't exactly notice that at the moment. She was too transfixed on the girl's face, and was too neurotic to boot.

"…Fleur?" Hermione half asked with a shaky tone "What are you-"

"I think we both have the same reason, non?" Fleur replied with a smirk that revealed her brilliant white smile "We couldn't sleep, and thought a nice walk would be necessary to clear our heads."

"That's… about right." Hermione conceded, but didn't know what else to say.

"Your name, mademoiselle?"

"Excuse me?" Hermione responded with a confused look.

"You already know my name, now what is yours?" Fleur explained with a smile.

"Oh… oh! Where are my manners! Hermione Granger." Hermione managed after a slow start and a glowing face "I'm sorry, I should have-"

"**It is no problem, Hermione"** Fleur interrupted in French with a dismissive wave of her hand "Boys do that to me all the time, as well as the occasional girl."

Hermione frowned; she didn't quite like what Fleur was insinuating with that statement. Fleur didn't seem to pay the frown any mind as she sat down next to Hermione, sitting unusually close for what Hermione was used to and felt comfortable with.

'_It must be normal to her though; the French have less problems with more intima… with less 'personal space'.'_ Hermione rationalized in order to quell the mysterious clenching in her stomach brought about by nerves.

They sat in silence for a bit, and Hermione tried her damnedest to not stare at Fleur. That in itself was a feat difficult to perform; they were alone, outside, where nobody _should_ walk over and intrude on them, and even with the 'heavy' Beauxbatons uniform, the girl still had curves that could kill. Feeling her uneasiness begin to grow more and more, Hermione quickly thought up something to spark conversation in the hopes of distracting herself from her feelings.

"So… Fleur… how are you enjoying Hogwarts so far?" Hermione asked softly.

"Well, Madamoiselle Granger, it is too cold here." Fleur began with as she gestured to the length of her skirt and the thickness of her cloak "The food is much heavier than what I'm used to, and the castle itself is dark and dreary. Beauxbatons is more of a palace than a castle like this, and it is much warmer too."

"…I see…" Hermione said, a hint of annoyance to her voice.

"On the other hand though, Hogwarts is quite interesting. The classes I've sat in on are just as good as Beauxbatons' own, and the eccentricities of the castle itself are far more interesting than Beauxbatons' ever was." Fleur continued before smiling and shifting her gaze to Hermione "I find the people to be the most interesting though."

Hermione felt herself blush under the gaze of the older girl, and she quickly looked away.

"We're interesting? I suppose I'm just used to everyone is all." Hermione stated, though her mind had wanted her to say 'I find you interesting as well.'

"Oui, you _are_ quite interesting." Fleur said, her smile unchanging.

Hermione couldn't help but wonder: did she mean 'you' as in Hogwarts' population, or 'you' as in she alone? Well, at least part of her was thinking that, and the other half was berating those thoughts and attempting to beat them back forcefully.

"…I know this might be a bit forward… but are you half-veela, by chance?" Hermione asked out of the blue, seemingly appeasing the half of her brain she was trying to suppress.

"Non." Fleur answered quickly, and before Hermione could respond, she answered again "I am one-quarter veela, from my grandmother."

'_Well, that explains why all the boys are crazy about her when she's around…'_ Hermione thought to herself, but the response brought up another question that she needed to have answered.

"So… that means you have a veela's thrall… right?"

"Oui, though it is rather weak compared to a full-blooded veela's." Fleur responded without a single change in her expression "And non, it only works on males."

'_Dammit!'_ was one of her thoughts, while the other one was _'YES!!'_

"Oh, alright." Hermione managed to get out as she realized that her 'confusion' was about to get all the more complicated "I should probably be heading back; I have classes early tomorrow."

Translation: Hermione was beginning to run out of things to say, and was slowly realizing that being around the source of her 'problem' wasn't exactly helping her to 'solve' it.

"Oui, that is a good idea." Fleur responded as the two of them stood up "It was nice talking with you, Hermione. I do hope we get the chance to do so again."

"Y-yeah, it was… fun." Hermione squeaked as her cheeks tried to turn scarlet.

Then, Hermione's face turned scarlet when Fleur did something that couldn't have been explained even by her French heritage and customs: she bent down slightly and planted a kiss on Hermione's cheek. It wasn't a terribly long kiss, but it was still one all the same that left Hermione frozen like a statue for a significant amount of time. A smiling Fleur would leave without a word, leaving Hermione to her, rather minimal, thoughts.

'…_I think I need to talk to Harry tomorrow…'_

* * *

Authors Note: Well, a bit longer than the last chapter, and I'll go ahead and state that chapters will be of no standard length, so don't expect any. As I feel I'll be questioned about the part with Fleur, let's face it: Fleur is the type of girl who is straight-forward, to the point, and has the courage to go after what she wants. That is why she was so forward with Hermione. That, and it's nice to torture Hermione for a bit until she figures things out. As usual, please review and offer any suggestions you wish to. All are appreciated.

Note 2.0: I would also like to personally thank all (at the time of the posting) 9 reviewers for their wonderful compliments. I was worried I was doing horribly or whatnot, but you all have personally restored my confidence in this, and for that, and if you keep up the replies (praise or criticism, or both), I'll tack on either 2 post-series epilogues, or one 2-section post-series epilogue. Hell, I might even do it anyway, just for fun.


	3. Realizations at a glance

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be rich… but I'm not… 'nuff said.

Authors Note: Well, I went ahead and started on this one before I even got a first hit on chapter 2. I'm going to complete this story no matter what, and at the moment I have naught but free time. On with the show!

* * *

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_**Speaking entirely in French"**_

Narrative

* * *

_**At A Glance**_

_Chapter 3: Realizations at a glance_

* * *

In order to expedite the process, Hermione got up extra early and headed down to grab breakfast. She had figured that Harry, after his spat with Ron, would not exactly be up to dealing with the rest of the school down in the dining hall. Hell, he'd have to deal with them later anyway, so she might as well prolong the inevitable. It _certainly_ had nothing to do with the fact that she was trying to get him alone to talk to him… right?

"Harry!" Hermione yelled to get his attention as he stepped out from behind the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Oh, hey Hermione." was the solemn reply from Harry, who already looked a bit defeated "You already finished breakfast?"

"Yes, and I brought you some as well." she said as she brought out a miniature plate and her wand "Engorgio!"

After the plate was of a usable size, revealing a decent amount of food, Hermione suggested that the two of them go for a walk rather than head down to the dining hall and deal with the various students who, no doubt, didn't believe him when he said that he didn't put his name in the Goblet of Fire. Much like Hermione had the night before, the duo made their way out to the grounds, where they were sure nobody would be around to overhear the conversation. Luckily, Harry had finished off what little food he actually wanted to eat, so Hermione had shrunk it back down so they didn't have to carry it around anymore.

"Come on Harry!" Hermione said in a somewhat forced tone of happiness after they had done a bit of walking "I'm sure all those prats will realize you're telling the truth."

"'Those prats' includes Ron." Harry muttered darkly "My other best mate doesn't even believe me."

"Oh come on, you and I both know how Ron can be. He's just jealous of you getting all the attention." Hermione stated with a sad grin, only then realizing just what the people who attempted to… 'console' her were feeling when they gave her that same smile.

They had hated to see their friend suffer with their own thoughts.

"Well, that doesn't make it any easier." Harry once again replied with a hint of disdain to his voice "It's not like I _wanted_ the attention..."

'_Wow… is this how I've been… more or less?'_ Hermione wondered absentmindedly as she tried to think of something else to say "Don't worry Harry, Ron'll come around soon enough, and so will everyone else in the school. Everything will get better, I promise."

"Do you believe me?"

"Why wouldn't I? I can't even figure out the enchantment you'd have to use to get the cup to spit another name." Hermione responded with a grin "I believe you without a doubt."

Luckily, this seemed to brighten Harry's mood a bit.

"Thanks Hermione." Harry finally said as a somewhat more normal smile crossed his features "Now what was the other thing you wanted to talk about?"

Hermione's smile dropped at that; she had almost forgotten about her 'problem'.

"Well… I met Fleur last night." Hermione began as her nerves started to kick in.

"Really?" was Harry's response, his eyes going wide with surprise "When did you meet her?"

"…on the grounds… after curfew." Hermione admitted softly, then catching the look Harry was giving her she realized how that might have sounded "I didn't even know she was going to be there, honest!"

"Calm down Hermione, I'm not accusing you of anything here." Harry responded with the hint of a smile "But I'm guessing there was more to it than that."

"Of course…" Hermione replied with a hint of embarrassment "…we got to talking a bit…"

"…yeah… and?" Harry said after Hermione went silent.

"Well… apparently she doesn't much care for Hogwarts…" Hermione continued "…well, except for the people anyway…"

"Okay, I don't see how that's that big a deal." Harry responded with a frown "She seemed a bit stuck up to me when I first saw her."

Hermione found herself a bit irked by that, but that was quickly drowned out by her other emotions.

"Well, I also found out she's a quarter veela."

"That explains a lot." Harry admitted honestly "…but that still doesn't sound like something you'd need to talk to me about."

'…_has every one of my friends mastered Legilimancy over the summer?'_ Hermione found herself wondering as her cheeks flushed a rather vibrant shade of pink _'Or am I just that easy to read?'_

"…she… well…" Hermione struggled to find the word, which seemed to be escaping her mental grasp at the moment.

Harry, despite his previous bout of depression, was trying desperately not to laugh at the expression, and actions, of Hermione. He knew he shouldn't be, but he still just couldn't help himself.

"…shekissedme." Hermione finally managed to say, but she couldn't bring herself to not blush and keep walking.

"What was that?" Harry asked curiously, though he had an idea of what Hermione had said "Can you slow that down a bit?"

Hermione had to fight back a lump in her throat as she attempted to explain once more.

"…as she was leaving… she leaned forward… and… she kissed me…" Hermione finally managed in something only barely audible "…on the cheek."

Harry and Hermione had both stopped moving by this point, and Harry seemed to be processing the information rather slowly. In reality, he was trying not to smile for reasons that only Ginny and he knew about.

"Harry?" Hermione squeaked again, feeling uncomfortable with the silence.

"Oh, sorry Hermione." Harry finally replied "But is it really that big a deal? I thought French girls kissed each other on the cheek as greetings or whatnot?"

"They do… but this was… different." Hermione explained as her blushing maintained it's brilliant ferocity.

"…well, what do you take it for then?" Harry asked after a few moments.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, though she clearly understood the question.

"What do you think the kiss was for then, Hermione?" Harry reiterated "If it wasn't a normal greeting or goodbye, then what was it?"

Hermione didn't want to answer. She had a few ideas… but none of the answers were going to make her life any easier. She didn't want to _think_ them… let alone _speak_ them to another living being.

"…I don't know…" was Hermione's only response, but she couldn't even look Harry in the eyes when she said it.

Harry let out a sigh, moving to sit down against the side of Hogwarts, motioning for Hermione to do the same. She did so without question, though she still couldn't look at Harry while amidst her thoughts. Harry had to admit though: Hermione didn't blow up at him like she had to Ginny when she had suggested something. How he knew about that should have been rather obvious.

"…I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear at the moment…" Harry began, which was when the warning bells began to go off in Hermione's mind "…but Fleur asked me about you after the Champions' meeting was over."

Hermione felt herself pale, which was in great contrast to her racing heart.

"…she was asking about me?" Hermione whispered, barely audible to the boy-who-lived.

"It wasn't anything much, just your name and simple stuff like that." Harry explained "All I told her was your name, and that you were my friend."

'_She did say 'you are interesting' yesterday… she _was_ talking about me alone…'_ Hermione's mind put together, much to it's own complex pleasure/displeasure _'Then the kiss… does she… maybe…?'_

"I'm confused…" Hermione finally relented aloud as she set her head on the wall behind her, not noticing that it had been slightly painful due to the level up in confusion she had attained "Dear Merlin I'm confused…"

Harry had the sense to not say anything at the moment; there wasn't much he could do anyway without it coming across as him trying to force her into something. Harry, as well as Ginny and a few others, already knew the answer, but Hermione was just now asking the question, it seemed. All he could really do was what she had done for him: reassure her and tell her that it would be okay… or something along those lines.

"Look, Hermione-" Harry began, but he wasn't able to get another word out.

"I need to think about this." Hermione finally said, getting up from her spot against the wall and already heading off in a hurry "Bye Harry."

"…bye Hermione." Harry responded loud enough for her to hear, but then his voice dropped to a low mutter for the rest of the sentence "I hope you figure yourself out both right and soon."

* * *

_**For the Next Month…**_

* * *

Hermione found herself about as close to a psychological trainwreck as it was possible to be without being considered 'broken' or insane. She was so terribly, utterly confused, and it was causing her to struggle in class. She wasn't answering questions, though she still answered some and all were completely accurate. Her homework took longer than normal, and on rare occasions she had to rush to complete it. Her nights were fraught with dreams that confused her more, and sometimes she'd simply stay awake contemplating her confusion and it's causes to no avail. She was utterly, utterly miserable and distraught… to begin with.

Then, after the incident in which she was assaulted 'accidentally' by Malfoy and had her teeth enlarged, she managed to slap some sense into herself and get her head straight. She also managed to get her teeth fixed up properly and better than before, but that's beside the point. Her schoolwork and life in general got more organized as she decided to finally solve this 'problem' once and for all. That wasn't to say she wasn't nervous, confused, or otherwise; she simply found the intrinsic motivation to figure it out and not dwell on it the rest of her life.

The first step to her solution began after the wand-weighing, which is when she and Harry began to frequent the library rather often. It was, more or less, accidental, as she was not actually expecting Viktor Krum, who was frequenting the library as well, to fancy her. It proved useful though, for it gave her the opportunity to see if she could find him interesting as well. Unfortunately for the 'rational' portion of her brain, she didn't find him remotely interesting, despite speaking to him once or twice. Sure he was handsome, famous, and was rather intelligent and kind, but she simply didn't find him interesting. She didn't like where this was leading her… but she didn't let it stop her.

The second step was to see just what Fleur's 'deal' was. During meals, she would observe, though some might have called it 'stare at', Fleur. Once or twice she'd find herself caught gazing into the older girl's blue eyes as she stared back, which normally preceded a suggestive smile or smirk that would send her cheeks ablaze and her heart racing. She'd notice Fleur watching her unabashed, and Harry and Ginny both mentioned that she had been asking about her on several occasions. Obviously, Fleur had some type of interest in her, but Hermione didn't think… well, Hermione _hoped_ it was nothing too… 'deep'.

The final step involved a lot of looking around to see just who it was that caught her fancy, as well as a lot of introspection. She slowly realized that she was not as 'innocent' in most of her actions as she had once assumed, such as staring 'out of the window' in one of her classes that just happened to be on the other side of the rather beautiful Lavender. For weeks she found no guy that remotely caught her interest… and was subsequently shocked to realize just how much she noticed about the female students around her, with Fleur being at the forefront of her 'observations'. Looking back on as much of her life as she could remember, as well as taking recent feelings and actions into account, she could see a similar pattern in her life starting even before she joined Hogwarts. It was rather frightening for Hermione; she wasn't quite sure what to do aside from fretting about it, especially when she finally came to a series of conclusions that were… not what she was expecting.

'_Maybe… I need to talk to someone again…'_ Hermione rationalized after quite some time, though it was moments before Harry himself came to ask her for help.

* * *

_**Later…**_

* * *

"Accio Firebolt!" Harry shouted into the sky, his hand extended outwards as his trusty broomstick flew into his hands from some distance away "Excellent!"

Hermione forced herself to smile happily at his success, though she wished silently that it was a bit less lighter than 'pitch black' at the moment.

"Wonderful job Harry. You should have no problem with the dragons tomorrow." she said with somewhat of a happy tone.

"I hope so… otherwise you'll need a couple spells to find all the ashes…" Harry said in a joking manner, though his concern was evident.

"You'll do fine Harry." Hermione reassured "You just have to keep focused and maintain-"

"Constant vigilance?" Harry finished with a smile "Thanks for the advice 'Professor Moody'."

It made Hermione feel a bit better to laugh a bit, but she was still nervous about what she was about to ask.

"Well, we should probably be turning in; I need to rest up for tomorrow, er… later today." Harry announced moments after letting a long yawn escape him.

"Actually, can we hang around here for a little longer?" Hermione asked softly "I… need to talk to you again."

"…of course Hermione." Harry said with the same sad-yet-pleasant smile she'd seen too often for her tastes.

Like their last talk, Hermione and Harry found a place against the wall to sit, but this time it was Hermione who began to speak first.

"I've been thinking… quite a bit actually." Hermione began "Since we talked almost a month ago about my encounter with Fleur."

"I gathered that." Harry said with a grin "You didn't exactly hide it you know."

"I know, and I don't think I need to tell you what I've been thinking about."

"That was also obvious. Well, to me anyway." Harry replied, though he conveniently left a couple of names out for sheer courtesy.

"Well… Harry… I think I might have almost 'solved the problem'… but I'm kind of…" Hermione seemed more hesitant to say the last part "…scared."

"…I know…" Harry responded softly after a moment "…you can talk to me you know. I can't promise I can commiserate, but I might be able to help still."

"I know… that's why I'm talking to you; you helped me before… quite a bit actually." Hermione admitted "…I'm not sure where to start though…"

Silence reigned for a bit, several minutes actually, as the duo sat against the castle wall in the cold November air. Finally, Hermione seemed to find courage down deep within her, and she finally spoke again.

"Harry?"

"Yes Hermione?"

"…you know those rumors? The ones about me, um… 'playing for a different team'?"

"Of course."

"…" is what it sounded like, as Hermione's face paled significantly.

"…I'm sorry Hermione, but I couldn't hear you." Harry asked, knowing that it would be painful for Hermione to have to say it again, but also knowing that she _needed_ to say it.

"…they… they aren't…" Hermione managed, though the lump in her throat and the tears in her eyes threatened to stop her from finishing "…I don't think… they're… rumors… anymore."

"I think… I… fancy… girls." Hermione explained as the tears began to roll and her voice began to crack "I… think I… fancy Fleur."

Harry simply smiled sadly as Hermione began to lose what little composure she had left.

"I don't know what to do..." was Hermione's last strained sentence before she finally broke down into a sobbing mess, clinging to Harry a moment later like a frightened child would cling to her mother, muttering fragments of 'I don't know', 'help me', and 'I'm scared' all the while.

"It's alright Hermione..." Harry whispered to the crying girl that was now held in his arms "Everything's gonna be alright..."

They wouldn't be back to the tower that evening/morning, and Harry was very glad that he'd gotten Ginny and Neville to cover for them.

* * *

Authors Note: Done… and...wow... 21 reviews at the time of this posting... I am honored, especially with how... positive ALL my reviews are. I thank you ALL for such good praises, and I promise that, though this chapter is probably the 'worst' chapter so far, all other chapters _will_ be better than this. Reviews are greatly appreciated, as you might have already figured, as are suggestions and constructive criticisms. Given the nature of this chapter, I will wait for reviews before beginning the next chapter, so that I can address any issues that arise or whatnot.


	4. Affirmations at a glance

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter… well, let's just say that I don't… nor do I make money off of this.

Authors Note: wow… lots of reviews… and I appreciate all of them. Because of my slowly growing fanbase (lol, sorry, I had to say that), I've decided that my next fic will probably be a Ginny/Hermione, or maybe another Fleur/Hermione fic. I only like to start one fic at a time, unless there is an exceptional reason to do otherwise, so I'll finish this one up first. Anyway, I've blabbered on long enough; I'll start the fic now.

* * *

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_**Speaking entirely in French"**_

Narrative

* * *

_**At A Glance**_

_Chapter 4: Affirmations at a glance_

* * *

It had been just over a week since Hermione had come out to Harry, and she had to admit that she actually felt better after having done so. It felt good to finally be able to admit something she had, probably, known all along but either couldn't or refused to recognize. It also felt good to be rid of that nagging question at her conscience, and to finally be able to think clearly. It was also nice to know that Harry was there for her, as was Ginny, who had found them after breakfast the day of the task still asleep and had woken them with a smile on her face that clearly said she knew something.

Of course, it wasn't all 'fun and games'; she had a whole new slew of questions she needed to answer as well, though they weren't as stressing to Hermione as the previous one had been. What did this mean for her? Would she tell anyone besides Harry and, apparently, Ginny? Would she _date_ anyone? How open would she be? So many questions because of a life changing answer… how problematic...

Luckily, Harry and Ginny were there to help her through it, though they had to be careful given Rita Skeeter's penitence for 'bugging' Harry and distorting his important conversations. This was _not_ something Hermione wanted announced to the whole wizarding world via a yellow journalistic newspaper. Anyway, Hermione finally got around to deciding that she'd take this new realization for what it was, no more, no less. She liked girls, not guys, but she wasn't about to go around calling herself a lesbian. But beyond that, well, she wasn't too sure yet.

With the Yule Ball approaching, Hermione had found herself at an impasse. If she went with a guy, despite the fact that she didn't like whomever it may be, she'd be effectively hiding whom she really was. If she went with a girl, whomever it may be, then everyone else would know that she was into girls. Then there was the chance that Rita Skeeter would find a way to get a photo of her with her date into the newspaper and somehow link her to cheating on her 'dear love Harry' behind his back. Of course, if she went alone or not at all, nobody would question her at all, but that'd be a bit pathetic now, wouldn't it?

"Why can't life ever be easy?" Hermione half asked as she sank into the chair she was sitting in "Honestly, why is life so bloody complicated?"

"Well, personally I blame Snape." Ron stated from his spot at a desk nearby, with Harry next to him working on the same divination 'essay' "He makes _our_ lives more difficult and complicated 'cause he hates us all."

"Don't forget Malfoy." Harry said with a smile, though unlike Ron, he knew what Hermione was talking about "He can be quite the prat you know."

"Well I figured that one didn't need to be pointed out." Ron replied "Now does this sound foreboding enough, or should I add in an animal attack in the near future?"

About that time, Ginny came into the portrait hole, and she seemed utterly ecstatic about something.

"What's got you in a-ah!" Hermione began, but couldn't finish her sentence as Ginny grabbed her by the arm and began to drag her off the couch and towards the rooms "Ginny! What the bloody hell?!"

"Just come on! I need to speak to you in _private_!" was Ginny's response as she dragged Hermione up the stairs, with the older girl nearly tripping on a couple of the stairs.

Harry and Ron hadn't moved from their seats as they watched the ordeal before them, but Harry was smiling throughout it's duration while Ron simply looked on in confusion.

"…what could be so bloody important that Ginny would drag Hermione up to their room like that?" Ron asked aloud, though it was to nobody in particular.

"It's probably nothing we should worry about." Harry said, suppressing a smirk "You know, 'girl talk' or that stuff."

"Eh, wouldn't surprise me knowing Ginny… poor Hermione though." Ron admitted, then seeing as they were the only ones in the commons, he had another question for his best mate "Hey, Harry, do you think Fleur has a date for the Yule ball yet?"

Harry blinked for a moment, his expression nonexistent as he realized that this could be a problem for Hermione…

* * *

_**With Hermione and Ginny…**_

* * *

"Ginny! Let me go already!" Hermione was shouting as she finally wrenched her arm from the redhead's grip "Honestly, what's so bloody important that you had to _drag_ me up here?!"

"It's Fleur."

Hermione's mind ground to a screeching halt, and her body froze along with it.

"…what about Fleur?" Hermione slowly asked.

"She wants to speak to you." Ginny continued with the widest of grins "Tonight. Alone. She wouldn't tell me where, but she did say you'd know _exactly_ where to find her."

'_Where we met on the grounds…'_ Hermione thought in her mind, which was beginning to get stirred up by the thought of being alone with Fleur again… especially now that Hermione knew just why she found the quarter veela so interesting.

"Do you know why she wants to talk to me?" Hermione queried, clearly more rational than she used to be on the subject.

"No, she didn't say." Ginny answered, but her grin turned to a smirk "But doesn't it seem suspicious that she wants to see you the very day the Yule ball is announced?"

"You think she's… gonna…" Hermione managed, but her voice seemed to catch before she could finish her sentence.

"Ask you to the ball?" Ginny finished, still grinning like a madwoman "Come on, Hermione! With what you told me about the first time you two honestly met, I wouldn't be surprised if she wanted you to be her _girlfriend_, let alone ask you to a dance!"

'_Fleur… as my girlfriend?'_ Hermione thought with a blush as she sat down on her bed _'As odd as it sounds to say I have a 'girlfriend'… would it be that bad? Hell, I _do_ fancy her… and unless she's always that friendly, it could be mutual. But what if-'_

A good knock to the head woke Hermione from her thoughts as Ginny looked down at her with sigh.

"Ginny-"

"You think too much." Ginny cut in "Just go down there tonight, talk to her, and let whatever will happen, happen. There's no point working yourself up over this, trust me."

"Since when have you been the expert…" Hermione began angrily, but then stopped to realize that Ginny had done something similar with Harry, and Harry was currently doing the same with Cho "…okay, maybe you do have a point."

"Trust me on this. If you go down there with your head on properly and don't second guess yourself, everything will work out." Ginny said in a manner that reminded Hermione of a teacher "Now you might want to find Harry before you leave tonight; I think he'll be able to help you find your way outside without too much trouble."

"Alright." Hermione said with a nod to accompany it "But before that, I had a question for you."

"Shoot."

"How come it doesn't seem to bother you that I'm, well, interested in… girls?" Hermione asked softly, ensuring that _nobody_ but Ginny heard her.

"Well, is there a reason I _should_ be bothered by it?" Ginny retorted with another grin as she made her way to the door.

"Well, no, not really."

"Then there's your answer." Ginny stated, moments before she opened the door and left.

It was several moments of contemplation before Hermione fell backwards to lay down onto her bed, her eyes gazing up at the bottom of the bunk above her.

"…Ginny's smarter than I gave her credit for..." she muttered aloud as she decided that maybe Ginny had just provided her with the answer to her questions.

* * *

_**That Night…**_

* * *

"Mischief managed." Hermione whispered to the Marauder's Map, watching under her wandlight as the magical ink faded from the scroll.

She peeled the invisibility cloak off a moment later, knowing that she was now in the clear entirely. The night was significantly colder and brighter than the last time she'd been out here and met Fleur, but that wasn't something she was too concerned with. It did keep her mind preoccupied a bit as she scanned the surroundings while placing the cloak and the scroll inside her cloak. She found a seat near where she and Fleur had previously sat, and Hermione simply waited till she heard the sound of footsteps like the last time.

It wasn't a long wait before she heard faint footsteps from behind her, and it didn't take a genius to figure out just who it was.

"Hello Fleur." Hermione greeted without looking, though she had rather little emotion behind her voice.

"Bonsoir Hermione." the French girl responded happily "I'm glad you made it out here tonight."

"Yeah, I'm glad I made it too." Hermione muttered, not sure if Fleur heard her.

"You are actually speaking in sentences this time." Fleur stated as she sat down on Hermione's left "You have figured your interest in women out then, non?"

Hermione's gaze snapped to the smirking blonde's face immediately, her own eyes wide as she swore her heart missed a beat or two.

"What are you talking about?" she tried to ask with an air of ignorance, though she failed miserably.

"Please, mon amie, I can read emotions like you can read a book." Fleur claimed proudly "It comes naturally with my veela blood, and with years of having boys and men stare at you with similar emotions, however unnaturally acquired they may be."

Hermione didn't know whether to pale or blush, so she simply opted to avert her gaze to the ground below.

"…so you've known about my feelings all along?" Hermione questioned softly.

"Oui, that is a fair statement." Fleur replied with her expression unchanging "It put both of us on the same page non?"

Hermione felt too awkward to come up with another response, instead finding the dirt and it's composition ever the more interesting.

'_Well, at least I don't have to worry about _that_ part of tonight…'_ Hermione thought in an attempt at optimism.

"Desole, mon amie, I probably shouldn't have said anything." Fleur finally said after about a minute of silence "I can see that you feel a bit, what is it… put off?"

"You could say that." Hermione responded in a low mutter.

"Hm… would asking you to the Yule ball make things worse, or better?" Fleur asked with a knowing smirk.

Hermione, despite the fact that she was now blushing and had a racing heart, managed a smile as well, though her gaze didn't change.

"Not sure. I figured you'd ask that, but I really don't have an answer to it yet." Hermione responded honesly.

"Oh? Is that so?"

"I mean, I just figured out that…" Hermione began but stopped out of sheer nerves.

"Go ahead, mon amie." Fleur urged "I already know, remember?"

"…that I like girls… and you… and I'm not sure I would want to… out myself yet."

"Hm… understandable. It is a big decision for you, non?" Fleur asked rhetorically.

"'Big decision' is an understatement." Hermione stated with a frown "'Life changing' is a much more accurate description. I mean, certainly _you_ know how it feels, right?."

"Non, I do not know that feeling." Fleur said with an indifferent expression before explaining a bit more "I have never hidden my interest in women before."

Hermione looked at the older girl finally, though her expression was a mixture of surprise, shock, and disbelief. Fleur apparently thought it was funny, as she let out one of her beautiful, melodic laughs a moment later.

"Do not look at me so! Understanding of your _own_ emotions also comes as part of the veela heritage." Fleur explained between bouts of laughter "You look downright _adorable_ when you have that expression!"

Now Hermione was surprised. 'Smart', 'Brilliant', 'Hard worker', and other similar statements were things normally applied to her by others, but 'adorable' was certainly a new one. Plus, she wasn't sure if it was entirely a compliment or not.

"So you've always… found women attractive?" Hermione asked carefully.

"Oui, for as long as I can remember." Fleur admitted with a smile "My family is no different. In fact my sister, Gabrielle, is the only part veela in the family who is _not_ interested in women to some degree."

"That's… surprising."

"To most, oui."

It was silent again, something that, by Hermione's count, had become a regular activity for her few conversations with Fleur.

"Fleur?"

"Oui?"

"Do you need an answer?" Hermione asked, referring to the Yule ball question.

"Oui, but not now." Fleur explained as she stood up from her seat in the grass "I will give you the time you need to make your decision, but please be considerate. On another note, I plan on spending my lunches in the library, and my free time near the carriage we arrived in. I would _love_ for you to join me, mon amie."

"Of… of course." Hermione said, a smile passing across her features as she followed Fleur's lead in standing up "I wouldn't mind that at all."

"Tres bien! Then I shall see you tomorrow, mon amie." Fleur exclaimed happily "Until then…"

As Hermione had been expecting, more like hoping actually, Fleur closed what little distance there was between them, and slid a delicate hand up onto her cheek, and planting a soft kiss on the other. Unlike the last time, Hermione was not paralyzed and shocked by it. Instead, though it was fleeting as Fleur pulled away and left once again without another word, she actually enjoyed it. She was smiling as one hand went up to touch the spot that was just kissed, which she knew to be the opposite cheek from the previous time.

"Ginny was right…"

* * *

Authors Note: Well, I might have broken my 1 a day posting streak, but meh, life gets in the way like that. Well, reviews and constructive criticisms are approved, and as usual any suggestions would be helpful. Oh, and to explain the part with Fleur: let's face it, a creature, such as a veela, that has such strong ties to emotional manipulation would logically also have some comprehension of various peoples' emotions. Plus, I thought it'd be more fitting for the way the story is going. As for the scene with Ginny, it may have been a bit OOC, but hell, I wanted to express my opinion on the subject.


	5. Dates at a glance

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter… I, Psionic Knight, would be much much MUCH more famous. … /cries/

Authors Note: Well, just one thing to note this time: I will now provide you the same ol' At A Glance, but now with _more Fleur_! Oh, and fluff, can't forget the fluff lol. And as a note: I am not typing out Viktor's accent either for the same reason I'm not doing Fleur's. Let us begin.

Authors Note 2.0: In response to one reviewer, my chapters have been less than 4000 words because it shortens the time between reading/posting sessions, and I personally _loathe_ having to wait a long time for an update on a story. That, and if I run into a problem either on my end or your end (as in you point out a fatal flaw with my plotline or etc), then I can change it without having to drastically alter an extensive existing piece of work too badly. That's why my chapters are comparably short .

* * *

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_**Speaking entirely in French"**_

Narrative

* * *

_**At A Glance**_

_Chapter 5: Dates at a glance_

* * *

Hermione realized just how slow time can move when you want to get something done. She had been staring at the clock all day, waiting for lunch to arrive so she could go and spend time alone with Fleur. Well, Viktor and his annoying followers would be there, but she normally sat in a secluded area anyway. When she was finally released, it was all she could do to not run through the halls. She left a confused Ron and a smirking Harry as she headed to the library, leaving the two to head to the dining hall on their own.

Upon entering, the first thing she saw was the gaggle of loud female students that were always hounding Krum for his attention. Next she saw the guys who saw him as an idol; the one's who worshipped him as the greatest quidditch player to ever grace the planet. Finally, she saw the cause of the crowded library himself, Viktor Krum, located near to where Hermione normally sat. Hermione sighed when she didn't see Fleur, but a small glimpse of platinum from the other side of the bookcase alerted Hermione to the older girl's presence.

Smiling, Hermione made her way through the crowd of ditsy and obsessive girls, some of which she noted were decently attractive, to the end of the bookshelf that was hiding Fleur. It's location would serve as a visual barrier between herself and Krum, whom Hermione had noted as having a rather displeased expression as she rounded the corner of the bookcase to head to Fleur. That was pushed out of her mind by the visage of beauty before her, which brought a mixture of nerves and joy to the muggle-born witch. Fleur, likewise, was smiling back at her as she approached, looking up from a book whose title was indiscernible to the English-speaking Hermione.

"You are earlier than I would have thought, mon amie." Fleur said with a smirk "Did you run here?"

"…what do you consider running?" Hermione asked with a short laugh.

"I take that as a yes."

After getting situated across from Fleur, as she figured sitting right next to her would look a bit suspicious since she wouldn't be studying today, Hermione attempted to discern the title of the book Fleur was reading.

"It says, in English, 'Spells, Enchantments, and Incantations for Dueling in the Watery Depths'." Fleur responded to Hermione's unasked question.

"A spellbook for underwater dueling?" Hermione stated with a brow furrowed in thought "Why would you be reading up on that? Wait, does it have to do with the second task?"

"That is a possibility. But alas, I cannot say." Fleur said with a wink as she shut the book and set it aside "There is an English copy in the bookshelf behind you, and I think a certain boy you know will find page 54 rather interesting."

Hermione immediately grabbed the book and flipped to the page, and she didn't have to read any further than the top page before a bright smile crossed her features.

"Charms for Mermish Communication." Hermione read aloud "I'm guessing it has some rather _loud_ effects outside of the water?"

"For a few, oui, but I don't see how that would be helpful." Fleur said in a falsely dismissive tone.

"Thanks Fleur, and I don't wish to be rude, but why would you want to help?" Hermione asked softly, as the library did have a tendency to carry even normal conversations over long distances "Isn't he your competition?"

"Oui, he is. However, he did me a favor, and I am simply repaying it." Fleur explained "At the time, I wasn't able to ask the 'greatest witch in all of Hogwarts' about herself, so I went with the next best thing."

"Really now, there are better witches than me here." Hermione replied, blushing wildly out of embarrassment as she shut the book she held.

"More experienced, oui, but skill is not determined by experience alone." Fleur stated "You are muggle born, but you have the best grades out of your _entire_ year. That, and you can actually _apply_ the spells you learn."

"Well, I guess you have something there." Hermione admitted , still blushing and embarrassed "But I still don't think I'm the best."

"Well, I guess the 'brightest witch in Hogwarts' will have to do." Fleur retorted before switching to French **"And I won't take no for an answer."**

"What was that last part? I don't speak French you know."

"Nothing important for the moment." Fleur stated as she propped her head up on the table, staring into Hermione's eyes with a gaze that made the younger girl feel like she was about to melt from the warmth in her body "Now, shall we get down to business? We came here to get to know each other, non?"

"Y-yes, we did." Hermione squeaked out as she gripped her seat with her hands in an attempt to keep herself from moving under Fleur's gaze "Um, well, you mentioned you had a sister?"

"Oui, her name is Gabrielle. She hasn't started school yet though; she's only huit."

"Um…"

"Eight, mon amie. Huit is French for 'eight'." Fleur said with a chuckle "Looks like I should probably teach you a bit of French too."

* * *

_**Later…**_

* * *

"Is that so? It looks like I underestimated the Boy-Who-Lived." Fleur said thoughtfully "I should probably consider a memory charm so you can't help him…"

"And risk ruining my 'beautiful mind'?" Hermione teased lightly, having become comfortable talking to Fleur over the course of the hour and a half they had been there talking "I don't think you're that good at memory charms to take that risk."

"Unfortunately no." Fleur said with a smirk as she glanced up at the clock "Well, that went by too quickly for my tastes."

"What?" Hermione said out of confusion before glancing over her shoulder at a clock "Bloody hell! My Potions class is in ten minutes!"

"Oh, desole, I should have kept a better eye on the clock!" Fleur said with a honestly apologetic expression "Same time tomorrow, oui? And at the carriage after classes?"

"Yes, of course!" Hermione said hurriedly as she was putting the water dueling book in her bag.

"Alright, and before you go…" Fleur said as she leaned across the table, quickly kissing Hermione's cheek "Adieu, mon amie."

"See you later Fleur." Hermione said with a joyful smile as she headed out, nearly knocking into Krum on the way.

"Hermy-own-ninny." Krum said as she stepped back quickly "I was wanting to ask you-"

"I'm sorry Krum." Hermione said quickly, yet sincerely all the same "But I can't talk right now; I'm going to be late for class."

"Oh… my apologies." Krum said as he stepped out of the way "It wasn't that important anyway."

"Thank you." Hermione replied as she headed on past the tall, dark quidditch player "We can talk later."

Krum only nodded, though it was unseen by Hermione as she headed from the library. Hermione let out a sigh as she heard the door shut behind her after she entered the hallway.

'_I highly doubt that Krum would talk to me if it wasn't important…'_ Hermione reasoned as she traversed the halls of Hogwarts castle _'…and he likes me… I hope he wasn't going to ask me to the ball… I don't want to hurt him… he seems lonely as it is…'_

* * *

_**Two Weeks Later…**_

* * *

Hermione and Fleur spent time together consistently over the next two weeks, spending the lunches in the library, and spending the afternoons and evenings wandering the castle and grounds, or in the library if Hermione had a bit of homework to work on. They discussed and partook of many things, varying from their days and lives, to various magical subjects and homework for either of the girls. Despite being the Beauxbatons champion and spending the year at Hogwarts for the most part, Fleur still had her final classes to take care of, though she had taken care of her N.E.W.T.S. before they left. She didn't _have_ to, but she had arranged for special permission and had passed with flying colors.

Hermione was impressed with how amazing Fleur was. She was beautiful, which no being of _any_ gender or persuasion would be able to deny, intelligent, talented, confident, insightful, and a skilled tactician. Sure, she was a bit blunt, arrogant, and rude at times, but hey, nobody's perfect. Besides, Hermione wasn't going to complain; Fleur's faults made her an interesting character.

Fleur, likewise, was finding Hermione more interesting than she had been expecting. She had originally found the younger girl simply attractive and 'cute', but there was much more to the girl that she found endearing. Hermione was utterly _brilliant_, and was not exactly shy or low in self-esteem either. She was witty and talented as well, though Fleur found her to be a bit naïve and inexperienced as well. Still, they made her rather cute, and more attractive than Fleur had been expecting. Hell, Fleur had actually found herself irritated when Hermione told her that Krum had asked her to the ball. Luckily, Hermione had said she had told him she had already been asked, which was a good sign for Fleur and her own shot of having Hermione as her date.

Hermione also had to admit that the longer she spent with Fleur, the more she considered going with her to the Yule ball as a date. That's why she told Krum, and later Neville when he asked, that she had already been asked by someone previously. By the end of the second week, not only had she and Fleur become friends, but Hermione had finally decided to go to the Yule ball with Fleur as her date, or as Fleur's date… she hadn't quite figured out which it would be yet. She had a week and three days to take care of a dress and the like, but she had to finally answer Fleur's question first.

Luckily, Hermione was leaving with Ginny from their dorm room, with Ginny going to talk to Neville about the dress she'd need to wear, and with Hermione heading to visit Fleur at the Beauxbatons carriage. However, before she could make it into the commons, she was called upon by a certain redhead of her same age.

"Wait, Hermione!" Ron said from his place on the couch next to Harry, who was shaking his head in disapproval "You want to go with one of us as a date?"

"Excuse me?!" Hermione asked, mostly shocked until she saw Harry mouth the words 'I'm sorry'.

"Well, neither one of us has a date, and neither do you, so do you want to-" Ron continued with a smile… until Hermione cut him off rather violently.

"What in the bloody hell are you playing at?!" Hermione shouted, loud enough to break the rest of the students from their various games and homework "You want me to go with you or Harry out of _convenience_?! You've gone out of your bloody mind you twit!"

"Oh come off it Hermione!" Ron was shouting back, standing up from his spot on the couch in the process "Do you know how bloody hard it'll be to find a date-"

"I already _have_ one!" Hermione shouted, her face burning red, mostly out of embarrassment rather than anger "Now bugger off Ron, and it's your own damn fault you waited so long to ask someone to the dance!"

Hermione didn't stick around to hear Ron's response, instead leaving through the portrait hole in a fuming hurry. Harry sighed and leaned his head against the back of the couch, glad that a full blown war hadn't erupted between the two… yet. Ginny on the other hand was almost as angry as Hermione was, glaring at Ron until she passed by him on her way over to Neville. Ron was, of course, still irritated for three reasons now: his plan for a date failing, he just got yelled at by one of his best mates, and he was going to look like a moron in front of the school now that he had nobody else to ask for a date.

"Great… just bloody great…" Ron muttered as he too leaned back on the couch, praying that things would work out for the better… somehow.

* * *

_**Not Too Much Later…**_

* * *

"That stupid git… who the hell does he think I am?" Hermione fumed aloud as she made her way through the various corridors of the school "Puts me on the same platform as that _harlot_ Pansy, does he? Merlin, if he weren't my friend I'd-"

"Oi, Mudblood!"

'_Oh, great… when it rains it pours…'_ Hermione thought as she turned around to glare at Slytherin's greatest prick.

"Malfoy, now is _not_ the time for your bollocks." Hermione hissed, her hand clenching tightly around the wand in her pocket.

"It's not, is it? And here I was wondering how well those _rabbit teeth_ of yours had grown back in, Granger." Draco replied snidely, his face twisted into his normal smirk.

"Piss off, Malfoy."

"Or what? You'll sick your_ beloved_ Champion on me?"

"**Well, that wouldn't be too bad an option."** a harshly melodic French voice said from behind Draco and his two lackeys.

"What the-" was all Draco got out before he was sent flying into a wall, his wand going the other direction. Crabbe and Goyle were sent in opposite directions as well, their wands flying upwards and imbedding themselves in the ceiling rather deeply. It happened so fast that Hermione was somewhat stunned as Malfoy's wand flew past her face. Admittedly that feeling didn't last long when she noticed her soon-to-be date for the ball standing with her wand out in her general direction, smirking proudly at her excellent work.

"A disgruntled ex-boyfriend?" Fleur teased as she tucked her wand back in her robes.

The look of sheer terror on Hermione's face almost frightened Fleur.

"…don't even _joke_ about that! I'd rather have dated a blast-ended skrewt!" Hermione was almost yelling.

"Desole, desole, that was in rather poor taste." Fleur responded, motioning for Hermione to calm down "Shall we head to the carriage now? These… scumbags will wake up eventually."

"Yes, that's a wonderful idea." Hermione stated with a glance down at Malfoy, noticing that, not only had he been disarmed, but he had also been stupefied as well "That was a good job, by the way."

"Merci, mon amie. I try to impress." Fleur said proudly as she began to head in the direction of the carriage.

Luckily, the trip was fairly short, as well as fairly quiet. The air of the afternoon was much warmer than either of them had been expecting, and Fleur found it actually… tolerable, for once. The sun was nearing evening too, and Hermione had a somewhat secret desire to sit there and watch it as it set. More pressing matters had to come first though.

"How was the rest of your classes, mon amie?" Fleur asked casually as she took a seat on the top step of he Beauxbatons carriage "Better than that confrontation back there, I hope."

"Loads better." Hermione replied honestly "I swear, Malfoy can be such a little _bastard_…"

"Why do you let him call you such awful names?" Fleur asked firmly "You are more than capable of putting him in his place."

"Because I plan on being the better woman." Hermione announced, but then reconsidered what she said "Well, the better person, I guess."

"Hm… still, a good hex or two would teach him respect."

"Or provoke him more."

"So he's that type of guy, oui?" Fleur asked with a smirk "I think I know how to-"

"Don't worry about it, Fleur." Hermione interrupted, exaggeratedly rolling her eyes "He's no problem for me at all."

"If you say so, mon amie, but if you ever need help…" Fleur said with an almost wicked grin "…I would be more than happy to help."

"I'm sure you would." Hermione replied with a short chuckle, finally taking her seat next to Fleur, no longer feeling uncomfortable with how close the French girl liked to sit to her.

"Anyway, anything interesting happen today that you would care to share?" Fleur asked with interest.

Immediately a frown crossed Hermione's face as she let loose a groan.

"That is not a good sign." Fleur remarked as her smirk faded "That bad, oui?"

"Oui… Ron decided to ask me as his bloody last resort for a Yule ball date!" Hermione angrily exclaimed "That prat doesn't even notice I'm a girl most of the time, and when he does, he pulls bollocks like that! Hell, he even asked if I'd be willing to go with _Harry_!"

"Calm down, mon amie, it is not something to get _that_ worked up over." Fleur said, placing a comforting hand on Hermione's shoulder "I assume you said no to both of them?"

"Of course. I mean, if I had to go with Harry, it wouldn't be so bad… except for if that bloody Rita Skeeter got involved…" Hermione explained "I mean, it wouldn't be as if we'd be going as a couple after all."

"That is true; he is a good friend to you." Fleur said with a smile that disappeared a moment later "But then, who do you plan to go with?"

Hermione didn't say anything in response to that for a while, and it made Fleur a bit suspicious.

"To be honest Fleur, it really depends…" Hermione finally said, making sure to keep her face straight in the process.

"Depends on what, mon amie?"

"What's the color of your dress?"

Fleur was grinning wider than she had in quite some time as her heart went aflutter.

"**It is a beautiful silver, my friend."** Fleur said softly, moving herself to Hermione's ear, her breath tickling the younger girl and making her shiver slightly.

"**That good. I have a blue dress that work good with that."** Hermione tried to reply with the French that Fleur had been teaching her, however poor her attempt was.

"That was a good try, mon amie." Fleur said with a low, pleasant laugh "You need to work on tenses though."

"After we plan the date out, right?" Hermione queried, only noticing afterwards that she had called it a 'date', not a 'dance'.

"So it's a date now? Fair enough." Fleur said in a rather happy tone "Should I bring you flowers, or would something more unconventional be in store, mon amie?"

Hermione simply smiled in response, setting a hand atop Fleur's own that was still resting on her shoulder.

'_This could work out better than I thought…'_

* * *

Authors Note: Well, there ya be, my dearest readers. I can promise you all that the next chapter will be all about the Yule ball, Christmas day, and the various interactions, reactions, and whatnot surrounding it. I promise you that it WILL be up by tomorrow evening… based on EST anyway. Once more: reviews, criticisms, and recommendations are all appreciated, so long as they are posed pleasantly. Oh, and I_ really_ appreciate ALL the reviews

Oh, and if you wonder how Hermione could learn somewhat complex French in two weeks time, realize that they _do_ have learning spells and potions, and that Hermione is _very_ good at studying, learning, and subsequent application of many things. If that doesn't work for you, then it's my artistic license that allows me to bend the basic impediments to the rapid learning of a second language lol.


	6. Girlfriends at a glance

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter… I, Psionic Knight, would be much more British. Sadly, I'm not even of British descent, but I can drink and fight quite well. (It's an Irish/Scottish joke)

Authors Note: Well, I gave myself a maximum limit of 36 hours effectively, and here's what I've produced. It's my longest chapter so far, and, well, yeah… just read the damn thing lol.

* * *

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_**Speaking entirely in French"**_

Narrative

* * *

_**At A Glance**_

_Chapter 6: Girlfriends at a glance_

* * *

The week and three days passed slowly… very, VERY slowly. Hermione could barely stand it on Christmas Eve. She wished that she could just sleep the day away and let tomorrow come, but that didn't seem a feasible option given biological needs such as food, water, and… well, take a bloody guess what the last one is. Luckily, she was exempt from too many Christmas presents, given by her at least, due to the fact that she didn't have too terribly much money.

Christmas day was relatively slow as well. Presents and morning celebrations seemed slow, and Hermione noted that there was no present from Fleur for her. However, if it was anything like the present Hermione had for her, then they'd be giving them to each other later. The period after opening presents and breakfast was utterly taxing on Hermione's patience; there was _nothing_ to do, and she was one simple mistake away from snapping. Finally, around midday, there was a snowball fight amongst the entire Gryffindor house. This particular event was enough to distract Hermione from that evening, and allowed her to show off her spell skills by serving as one of the few 'untouchables' in the game. It wasn't too hard to do really; a few shield spells, some fire spells, and nothing could touch her. Then add in magical manipulation of hordes of snowballs and she proved quite the one-woman-army.

However, the time came for her, and Ginny likewise, to go prepare for the evening's events, and they had to leave the snowball fight early. The reason Ginny left early, though she did not need so much time to get ready, was to help Hermione with a very specific potion for use with her hair. Sleakeazy's Hair Potion was used in amounts most people would not consider to tame Hermione's naturally unruly hair, though, to Hermione's relief, the makeup was not too different from muggle makeup that she knew how to apply properly. Then there was the dress which she needed Ginny's help in modifying ever so slightly.

By the time Hermione had finally finished, she was damn near unrecognizable as, well, herself. Her hair, now straight and controlled, was done up in an elegant knot that added a high-class image to the rest of her. Makeup accented her facial features, most notably the lipstick that provided Hermione with a slightly brighter, yet natural looking, lip color. The dress was a winter blue tone, complimentary to Fleur's silver dress, and relatively reminiscent of Ravenclaw's house colors. The dress itself was relatively fancy with two thin straps that left most of her shoulders bare, while the bottom half was flared enough to not be disturbed too much when she walked. The rest of the upper half showed off curves and a bust that even Hermione didn't know she had. Hermione, for one of the few times in her life, was able to look in the mirror and see that she was-

"Beautiful!" Ginny exclaimed as she came in to see Hermione in her new dress "Hermione, it's like you're a totally different person!"

"Thanks Gin." Hermione said, positively beaming "I didn't know that, well, I hadn't tried to look good in so long…"

"You should do that more often. Imagine if Fleur saw you now!" Ginny suggested ecstatically "We'd have to knock her out or blind her to keep her from staring!"

"You think so?"

"I _know_ so!"

Smiling confidently and standing up a bit straighter, Hermione couldn't help but feel a bit more self-confident in herself.

"Gin?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Now I'll need your opinion on a few things, if you don't mind having to stare at me in a pretty dress like yours for a while, that is." Ginny replied, adding a slight tease to her request.

Hermione blushed a bit at that, not quite expecting Ginny to bring that up. She did smile a as well, though; at least Ginny wasn't dancing around that subject all the time, and a bit of friendly teasing was a good sign in a way.

* * *

_**Later…**_

* * *

Hermione made her way through the halls alone with relatively nobody seeing her as she went to find Fleur. During the trip, Hermione couldn't help but feel her nerves rise and her stomach tighten. It felt a bit like walking to the headmaster's office to admit that you're the one who pulled the fire alarm when nobody would have been the wiser. She was about to announce to the _entire_ school that she, Hermione Jean Granger, was a lesbian… through her actions and choice of partner anyway. Even if it was _only_ a couple students at the dance, which she knew to not be the case, the word would spread faster than fiendfyre and quite literally _everyone_ would know by tomorrow. It was a decision that she could not go back on, and with each step her doubt was growing.

She was clearly nervous by the time she came to the ballroom to meet Fleur, which was something she had been somewhat expecting. Looking around, she only saw teachers and a few students. The students, a total of six, were all sitting at a table waiting patiently for the ball to begin, and only three of them were Champions. Fleur was nowhere to be found, but Hermione did find herself… panicking, that is.

"Miss Granger." a very familiar voice sounded from behind Hermione, and she nearly leapt out of her skin as she turned to face the Headmaster, who was dressed in dress robes of a blue much brighter than her own, with gold trim along it's seams and edges.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione said out of surprise, not sure what else to say at the moment.

"My, you look absolutely _stunning_ tonight my dear." Albus complimented with that twinkle in his eyes that only he alone could pull off "I'm sure Miss Delacour will be quite impressed."

Hermione felt her heart race as her cheeks heated up.

"How did you-?"

"My dear, just call it a sixth sense." Dumbledore said with a wink "Now, unless I'm mistaken-"

"Hermione?"

A second voice that Hermione recognized sounded from behind Dumbledore as he smiled all the wider.

"-she should be here now." Dumbledore finished as he turned to the side to reveal-

"Oh… my… lord…" Hermione said, her eyes wide and mouth gaping afterwards.

Fleur's platinum hair, which was lighter than her dress, was also done up in a knot of sorts, though the style was more complex than what Hermione's was. Fleur, as was normal for her, did not have makeup on. Hell, she didn't even _need_ it to look like she _had_ it! As for the rest of her… the silver dress was rather accentuating to her curves, and conformed _very_ nicely to her figure. It was a simple dress, with very thin straps and was, most likely, backless. It also revealed a rather decent amount of absolutely flawless skin, which was in great contrast to earlier that day when she wore covering from head to toe due to how cold it was in the castle and outside. Needless to say, it would probably be a tough decision to try and decide which of the two girls was the better dressed.

Hermione couldn't help it a she continued to stare, only broken from her distinct lack of thoughts when she felt a soft kiss on each of her cheeks. Blinking a couple times, Hermione found herself staring into the eyes of one Miss Delacour, who was smirking playfully.

"I take it you approve, mon amie?" she asked softly, having not yet moved back.

Hermione didn't think she could articulate anything at the moment, so she simply nodded.

"That is good, I did not want to be the only one dancing with an absolutely _gorgeous_ woman tonight." Fleur continued, clearly referring to Hermione as she slipped one of the younger girl's arms around her own "You are ready to go non?"

"Gorgeous… " Hermione replied absentmindedly before she finally shook herself free of her thoughts "Yes, I think… it's now or never."

"Well then, Miss Granger and Miss Delacour, I shall be happy to lead the two of you to your seat." Dumbledore said happily, with a smile that said more than even his words did "I'd offer to 'escort' you, but it appears, Miss Granger, that your date insists on doing that instead."

Hermione seemed confused for a moment before remembering how her arm and Fleur's were intertwined and smiled a moment later.

"Well, shall we then?" Dumbledore asked with a short, pleasant laugh as he began to head in the direction of the other three Champions and their dates.

Fleur seemed to lead Hermione as well, which didn't surprise Hermione in the slightest. The older girl happened to be the more confident and assertive of the two after all. Plus, Hermione wasn't sure how far she would have made it, given that, mere moments after they stepped into the room, she could feel multiple sets of eyes on her from teachers, Champions, and students alike. She didn't want to lose her nerve, so she tried to focus her hardest on a single spot of gold on the back of Dumbledore's dress robes.

By the time they reached the Champions' table, they had attracted _everyone's_ attention. Dumbledore was courteous enough to pull out both of their chairs for them and made sure they were situated before heading off to attend to, well, whatever important matters required him. Hermione was sitting at the far end of the table, with Fleur in the chair to her right. Glancing down along the length of the table, Hermione saw four sets of eyes locked on the two of them, though Harry of course was not surprised by this, nor was Krum's date, a Beauxbatons seventh year.

"I was wondering when you'd get here Hermione." Harry said with a smile "I almost didn't recognize you for a moment though."

"**Oh, this is the girl you planned on bringing?"** Krum's date asked with a grin and an approving nod **"She is quite the looker; you were lucky to find her."**

"Wait, Hermione?! As in, Hermione Granger?!" Parvati said from Harry's side, staring Hermione in the eyes for a moment before rounding on Harry "_This_ is her 'surprise date'? A _girl_?!"

"Oui, I am her date, and quite obviously a girl." Fleur said with a somewhat twisted grin as she glared down the Indian girl "Is that a problem?"

"No! Of course not!" Parvati replied hastily, realizing how she must have sounded "I just, well, I hadn't really expected Hermione to swing that way."

"Well I'll be damned… congratulations you two!" Cedric said with a smile, ever the friendly Hufflepuff student "Not many girls would have the guts to come out like you are!"

Hermione simply responded with a smile, not knowing what to say exactly. That, and she was a little nervous given the responses she had received. Three supporting, though two were due to previous knowledge of the event, one surprised, one wary and nervous response from Cho, and one look of forced indifference from Krum. Realistically, it looked about 50/50, which was better than it could have been, and there was no outright animosity to her after all. Still, with a glance at the various heads of the schools not too far off, Hermione noted that Karkaroff seemed to be glaring at her with the utmost hatred. Whether it was because she was a well-known muggleborn, or whether she was with a girl, Hermione was not certain.

Light conversation ensued, though no mention of Fleur's and Hermione's situation came up again. Parvati and Cho both seemed to loosen up a bit during the conversation, which moved on to quidditch eventually and helped lighten Krum's apparently dreary mood. It wasn't too terribly long though before the rest of the school began to show up, well, the one's with dates and who were old enough, anyway. As they filed in, Hermione could feel more and more gazes landing on her end of the table, and what's more is that she could _see_ them all. It was a rather nerve-racking scenario, which would explain why she felt Fleur's hand slide into hers, gripping it slightly, which proved a rather comforting gesture.

After everyone had filed in, of which Hermione could spot Ron a mile away in his horrendously ancient dress robes, Dumbledore stood to make a few announcements, which Hermione would not hear due to the nerves accumulating from having become the evening's spectacle alongside Fleur. Afterwards, she was not sure what was happening as Fleur made to stand, along with the rest of the Champions and their dates. Then it hit Hermione: she was in _the_ first dance of the night! Swallowing hard, and already straining her nerves at being stared at where she was, Hermione accepted the hand up from Fleur and slowly made her way to the dance floor via Fleur's lead.

Whispers mounted to a low roar as the gaze of the others continued to focus on her and her date. A sideways glance at Fleur and she noticed that she was not even fazed by it; in fact, she even stood up prouder and more confidently than before, as if serving as the pillar of strength that Hermione might end up needing. With a slightly revitalized level of confidence, Hermione managed to smile and quell a bit of the anxiety as she took her spot in front of Fleur in one corner of the dance floor. Then there came a moment of confusion for Hermione when she realized something regarding the dance and her situation.

"Um… who's leading?" Hermione asked in a low whisper.

"I'll lead." Fleur replied just as softly "Put your arms around me like you would normally."

Hermione complied, placing her right hand into Fleur's left, and wrapping her left arm over Fleur's shoulder and placing her hand gently on the bare skin of Fleur's upper back. Fleur's grip on Hermione's right tightened a bit, and her other hand slid around to mid back, just as gently as Hermione's hand was. The two girls were smiling as they looked at one another, waiting for the music to begin. Once it did, Fleur held true to her word and began to lead in the slow, formal dance.

Hermione felt… odd. It was strange how peaceful she felt now, staring into Fleur's eyes as they stepped, rotated, and effectively danced about to the beat. Fleur had the 'man's part' of the dance down pat, but she brought a feminine grace to it as the two of them whirled about in a fluid, beautiful dance. The stares only continued to grow, and even some of the Champions and their dates missed a beat or two as they watched the two women who were utterly entranced with each other during their dance.

When the dance finally ended, there was a _very_ loud applause that broke both girl's out of their trances. Glancing around, Hermione saw that most of the onlookers, including teachers and several of the Champions, were clapping for _them_. She was smiling wider than she had all night, nearly in tears at how well things had turned out for her. Following Fleur's lead, Hermione curtsied for the onlookers, eliciting more cheering before the music began to kick up again, in which Fleur held a hand out to Hermione in a questioning gesture.

"**Would you care for another dance, my friend?"** She asked with a smile as wide as Hermione's.

"**Do you need an answer?"** Hermione responded as she accepted Fleur's hand "I'd _love_ to."

* * *

_**A bit later, with Ron and Harry…**_

* * *

Harry, having finally managed to irritate Parvati enough that she went to speak to one of the boys from Beauxbatons, was left to sit beside Ron and watch the dance. Ron too had managed to irritate his date into leaving, so now neither one of them was on good terms with the Patil twins. Still, aside from Harry's depression at seeing Cho with Cedric, he found a small bit of joy watching Fleur and Hermione dance so elegantly. They appeared to be made for each other, in Harry's opinion anyway, and it was utterly amazing to see the two dance so beautifully together.

"Hey Harry, can you believe it?" Ron said, his eyes still locked on the two girls before him "Fleur's dancing with a _girl_, and they're staring at each other like they're the only one's here."

Ron leaned back with a sigh.

"I guess I never stood a chance when I asked her, did I?"

"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it. Besides, you should be happy for Hermione instead." Harry said with a smile "She's finally found someone she cares for."

"What?!" Ron asked, clearly shocked at what he heard "Who's she dating? Come to think of it, where the bloody hell is she?"

Harry was utterly dumbstruck.

"You're kidding me, right?" Harry asked in disbelief "Please tell me you're kidding me."

"What do you mean? Who the bloody hell is she dating?!" Ron reiterated, a bit irritated now.

'_Oh bloody hell… why do _I_ get stuck with this?'_ Harry said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Ron, Hermione was in the _first_ dance with me." Harry explained "You've been watching her dance for the last quarter hour."

"What are you talking about? I've been watching Fleur and-" Ron began, but froze mid sentence before staring out at the girl Fleur was dancing with "_That's_ Hermione?! What the bloody hell is she doing dancing with another girl?!"

"You're absolutely clueless, aren't you?" Harry said, becoming irritated at one of his best mates rather quickly "Hermione and Fleur have been seeing each other for nearly _four weeks_ now!"

Ron looked at Harry as if he had a second head, then slowly turned his head to watch Fleur and Hermione dancing so eloquently together. However, his previous pleasure in watching Fleur was replaced with anger rather quickly. Harry simply pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to will away the seemingly inevitable future headache.

* * *

_**A bit later as well, with Fleur and Hermione…**_

* * *

After dancing for lord knows how long, Fleur and Hermione decided to call it quits. As soon as they stepped off the dance floor, they were hounded, more or less, by countless people. Fleur's friends from Beauxbatons wanted to congratulate Fleur and speak to Hermione, various Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students that Hermione knew wanted so show their support for her and offer the same congratulations, and even a couple of Ravenclaw students wanted to congratulate the two. Even Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore came to compliment them, and also show their support. However, the problem was that they all came en masse, which made things a bit hectic. So, this time by Hermione's lead, she and Fleur fled from the ballroom to the gardens nearby.

"Finally!" Hermione exclaimed as she and Fleur finally entered the gardens "Peace and quiet at last!"

"What's wrong Hermione? A bit overwhelmed by your many friends, oui?" Fleur said with a chuckle "It was better than expected, non?"

"Of course it was… oh dear lord was it better than expected." Hermione said with a wide smile "I honestly didn't think they'd be this supportive; I expected them to absolutely _loathe_ me…"

"Why would you think that, mon amie?" Fleur asked out of curiosity as she moved to rest against a railing "Did someone say something to you?"

"No, it's just that, well…" Hermione considered what to say next "…I guess I was just assuming the worst… not everyone is so… accepting."

"Hm… but, 'the worst' was not the case." Fleur continued with a smile a she stepped back from the railing "Now, everyone knows about you and I, if they hadn't already, and they are aware of each of our interests in women."

Stepping closer to Hermione, Fleur's gaze seemed a bit more like how she had looked during the dancing, and it made Hermione blush a bit.

"Now, I was wondering, mon amie: as it technically is Christmas, would you care for your present?" Fleur asked with a suggestive smirk, having moved closer to Hermione than they had even been during the dancing earlier.

"Present?" Hermione asked, feeling her cheeks brighten up a bit more as she felt Fleur's breath tingling her skin.

"Is that a yes?" Fleur teased, moving even closer, her lips mere centimeters from Hermione's own.

Hermione didn't even bother to respond, instead taking the initiative and closing what little distance there was between the two of them. If her heart hadn't been racing already, then it certainly was now as her lips were pressed against the soft, warm, pleasurable lips of a girl who had captured her heart the first time she had seen her. Fleur, though initially surprised by Hermione's taking charge, quickly fell into a rhythm, wrapping her arms around Hermione's waist as her eyes closed. Hermione's own hands wrapped around Fleur's neck as their kiss deepened, neither of them thinking as they relished in the pleasurable sensations that were surging through them.

In the midst of their kiss, they somehow managed to move backwards towards the walls of Hogwarts. Despite being lost in their passionate embrace, Hermione was harshly brought to reality by the cold stone wall she eventually found herself pressed against.

"Ah!" she reacted from the sudden cold, and in the process, she managed to lurch forward a bit, forcibly breaking the kiss and throwing Fleur off balance.

"Merde!" Fleur exclaimed, vainly attempting to hold onto Hermione to keep from falling.

Unfortunately, Hermione was in no position to balance herself, and Fleur only succeeded in dragging her down on top of her. Pain and embarrassment ensued, as Fleur and Hermione ended up on the ground, Hermione laying on top of Fleur. Quicker than she'd have expected, Hermione shot to her feet, her face flushed a burning red as she offered Fleur a hand up, which the older girl accepted graciously.

"I'm so sorry! I completely screwed up! Are you alright?!" Hermione spouted rapidly, trying to mask her embarrassment by speaking and apologizing ASAP.

"Oui, I am fine, mon cheri." Fleur said, rubbing a sore spot on he rear "Do not be too harsh on yourself; you did quite well for your first… why are you staring at me?"

"…doesn't 'mon cheri' mean 'my darling'?" Hermione asked, still holding the hand that she had helped Fleur up with.

"Oh, you caught that?" Fleur said with a smile "But oui, that is a proper translation. You did not mind, did you?"

"Actually… I kind of like it." Hermione said with a grin "I think I would want my girlfriend to call me that."

Fleur couldn't help but smirk at the hint there.

"Well then, mon _cheri_, I think that's a reasonable request." Fleur said softly as she tugged Hermione a bit closer with the hand she still held.

This time, Fleur started the kiss, slowly and intentionally moving Hermione so she was pressed against the wall, the two of them once more losing themselves in a surge of pleasure that passed throughout them both. This time, there was no accident, and nothing but a few bugs would disturb them.

* * *

Authors Note: Alright, 'tis done, and ON TIME! Well, the last part might seem a bit rushed, as I was hurrying to get this in before I had to go to my job… as they called me in unexpectedly. Anyway, you know the drill: reviews, criticisms, and suggestions are always welcome.


	7. Ron at a glance

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter… I, Psionic Knight, would be much older… well, older than I am at least… well, let's just say I'm too young to have written book 1 and leave it at that, m'kay?

Authors Note: Well, if the reviews are anything to go by, my last chapter was a hit despite the fact that it was rushed a bit at the end. I guess I'm a better writer than I thought /inflates ego a bit/ Well, anyway, I've read the reviews, and I must say that somebody hit the mark, while a few, though it was a logical conclusion, missed it a bit. Still, I'll let the story do the rest of the talking.

Author's Note 2.0: Also, check out my Author's Page, as it has a poll to determine my next fanfic for the Harry Potter Universe. I know I said I knew what it was, but then I decided 'Let's make this more democratic and let them decide for me'. So, have at it; the fate of my work rests in your hands.

* * *

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_**Speaking entirely in French"**_

Narrative

* * *

_**At A Glance**_

_Chapter 7: Ron at a glance_

* * *

Hermione had no idea what hour it was that she returned from her private time with Fleur, but she honestly didn't care. She was utterly elated; she couldn't imagine a time in which she felt better. She could still feel Fleur's soft, warm lips, and there remained a bit of her taste when she licked them every once in a while. Needless to say, Hermione had probably found the memory that would most certainly produce a potent patronus no matter what. Now all she wanted to do was go to sleep; it was probably some ungodly hour of the morning by now, judging by the fact that there was absolutely _nobody_ wandering the halls back to the commons.

The Fat Lady was barely awake herself, so Hermione happily gave her the password and stepped into the commons. To her surprise, there was still an occupant in there, though said occupant was asleep and looked to have done so while reading a book on famous quidditch players.

'_Ron must have wanted to talk to me.'_ Hermione reasoned as she slowly crept to the stairs leading to her dorm _'Honestly though, this has been the _best_ evening of my life, and I _really_ don't want him to ruin it by yelling at me over this.'_

She managed to pass by him without a hitch, and silently hoped he'd be a bit less of his normally irrational self in the morning. She needed to talk to him and make sure things were good between them, as he did have a tendency to not realize things about her… and other girls in general. In her thoughts, which seemed to be perpetually drifting back to Fleur for reasons that would be obvious for even Ron at his worst, Hermione did not notice that the light to her room was still on before she actually opened the door.

"Where have _you_ been, Missy?" a clearly tired Ginny mustered from her spot on her bed.

"None of your business, _mum_." Hermione replied with a smile "…Have you gained weight, mum?"

Ginny simply rolled her eyes as two of the other members of the room woke up from positions that signified that they had _attempted_ to wait up for Hermione.

"Hm? Oh! Hermy! You're back!" Lavender said after a moment, her usual goofy smile appearing on her face.

"Uh… hey Hermione…" Parvati managed as she lifted her face from her pillow "You're back… early… _really_ early… breakfast is in several hours still…"

"Sorry, I just lost track of time." Hermione admitted with a blush "I'd have been back sooner but…"

"Doesn't matter. How'd things go?" Ginny asked in anticipation "You two left early after you were done dancing. That upset many of the boys you know."

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, blushing but still smiling "I _really_ don't want to think about that!"

'_But what the hell were you expecting Hermione? You're a lesbian around a bunch of straight, pubescent and adolescent males!'_ Hermione's mind shouted at her, but she more or less ignored it.

"Anyway, how was it?"

"Better yet, why didn't you tell us you played for the other team?" Lavender cut in "I mean, I heard the rumors and all but-"

"Please… do you honestly think she'd sleep with that Slytherin whore?" Parvati also cut in "Besides… I get the feeling those were just based on speculation…"

"Parvati's right; those were made up before I even, well, knew." Hermione answered as she made to sit down on her bed "I mean… it's only been a month since I figured it out. I was... well I was worried what everyone would think."

"Oh come on! It's not like you've been groping us or anything, why the hell would we care?" Lavender said in her normal, ditsy and goofy way.

"Well, it wasn't you all that I was worried about…" Hermione admitted after a moment "I mean, _everyone_ in the school has their own opinion after all…"

"Yeah… good point, but look how they reacted today." Parvati pointed out as she shifted to get more comfortable in her bed "You're a hit."

"Yes, yes she is, now can you answer my question?" Ginny interrupted a bit bitterly "How did it go?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, then smirked evilly.

"**Well, we kissed for quite a while, and she is now officially my girlfriend."** Hermione replied in French, though she hadn't quite mastered the accent... or most of the words exactly **"Everything was perfect."**

"…what?" Ginny replied in confusion.

"Wow… you can speak French too?" Parvati asked, clearly impressed.

"What the bloody hell did she say?" Lavender asked the other two girls before rounding on Hermione "Can we try English this time?"

"Nope, I answered Ginny's question, and I'm not repeating myself in _any_ language." Hermione replied with a smirk as she headed to her trunk to grab some clothing to change into "You can ask my girlfriend tomorrow at breakfast if you-"

"So it's official?!" Ginny asked, somewhat rhetorically "Oh that's bloody _hilarious_!"

"…care to explain?" Hermione asked, her smile faltering a bit.

"Oh, nothing bad, don't worry!" Lavender explained hurriedly.

"We were just saying about… an hour ago how funny it would be if you had a girlfriend before Ron and Harry did…" Parvati explained amidst a yawn "That's all…"

Hermione simply laughed after a moment, then proceeded to head to the bathroom to change into something more comfortable for sleeping in.

* * *

_**Later…**_

* * *

She was still happy as can be as she made her way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. As she had stayed up unusually late, she had awoken unusually late as well. As it was the day after Christmas, there would still be very little people, comparably, at the school for a couple more days, which meant that she and Fleur still had plenty of free time to enjoy together. Of course, then she'd have to experience another round of opinions, congratulations, affirmations, and possibly a few spurnings again, but she figured that she'd be okay after going through the first one.

Once she entered the dining hall, she noticed two things. First off, she attracted a _lot_ of attention from the tables, the professors included. Even the Slytherin table was staring at her, but most of them were glaring as opposed to staring in admiration, curiosity, or otherwise. The second thing she noticed was that Fleur was not in her normal spot at the Ravenclaw table. Rather, she found Fleur at the Gryffindor table, near Harry, Ginny, and, by the looks of it, a disgruntled Ron. Hermione didn't bother to focus on much else as she headed to her spot, catching Fleur's eye and smile as she approached.

"Bonjour, mon cheri." Fleur said happily in her same melodic voice "You are late, though."

"Well, in case you forgot, I wasn't able to head to bed till early this morning." Hermione replied as she took her seat between Fleur and Ginny "And it's good to see you too Fleur."

"I didn't get the chance to mention it yesterday," Harry began, taking a break from his meal to do so "but you two were quite impressive yesterday on the dance floor."

"Yeah, you're the reason Harry irked Parvati into leaving to flirt with a Beauxbatons boy." Ginny explained with a grin "He couldn't keep his eyes off you!"

"Oh come off it, Neville did the same thing!" Harry replied in his defense "So did you as a matter of fact."

"Ginny?" Hermione repeated, giving the younger girl a quizzical look.

"What? _Everyone_ who wasn't dancing was staring at you!" Ginny explained "Hell, you'd have to be blind not to want to; you two were absolutely _stunning_ out there!"

"Merci, Mademoiselle Ginny. That was what I was going for." Fleur said proudly.

"You were intending to draw the crowd like that?" Hermione teased with a smirk "I thought you just wanted _my_ attention."

"But of course, mon cheri! I can't help that I wanted to show you off though; you are, what's the phrase?"

"'Quite the catch'?" Ginny offered with a smirk, though what she had said is what brought a blush to Hermione's cheeks.

"Oui, that is it. You are quite the catch, mon cheri." Fleur finally finished.

"Oh stop, and quit giving her ideas _Ginerva_!" Hermione exclaimed, making sure to emphasize Ginny's given name quite strongly.

"Don't call me that." Ginny stated with a look of disgust "I hate the sound of my name."

"I've told you before: it's not a bad…" Hermione began, but a glance at Ron beheld his look of barely constrained fury "…what's wrong? Not talking to me now Ron?"

"Um… it's not that he doesn't want to." Harry began nervously "Fleur silenced him; he can't talk at the moment."

"What? Why?"

"He felt the need to begin to yell at me about 'corrupting' you." Fleur explained casually, though her normally pleasant smile was absent "I did not wish to start an argument here, so I silenced him. He is much more pleasant at the moment this way."

"'Corrupting me'?" Hermione repeated as she glared back at Ron "I made this 'decision' myself, _Ron_; I wasn't 'corrupted'."

As Fleur's hand slid into hers beneath the table unseen, Ron's face turned a bright red in anger, his teeth gritting since he wasn't able to vent via talking, screaming, or yelling. Hermione didn't want to press it further though, so she opted to simply ignore him.

"So, what's for breakfast?"

* * *

_**Later…**_

* * *

At her urging, Fleur had managed to get Ron and herself alone in one of the unused classrooms. It hadn't been too hard to arrange, as Harry and Ginny seemed willing to keep Hermione and Ron from fighting any more than they had to. As for Ron, well, it took a bit of her thrall, but she managed to calm him down enough to get him to follow her. She retracted her thrall after she was sure the door was shut and locked. Luckily, Ron was still silenced from earlier, so he wasn't immediately able to voice his current state of fury at the moment.

"Well, Monsieur Weasley, here is what is going to happen." Fleur said, her normally bemused smile gone and replaced with a taught, calm and composed expression "I am going to release the silencing charm. After that, you and I are going to solve the 'problem' in an orderly mission… **do you understand?**"

Though he appeared to be about ready to tear Fleur's head off with his bare hands, Ron slowly nodded in agreement. Fleur drew her wand from the folds of her robe once more, and then proceeded to counter her previous charm.

"Now, what is-" Fleur began, but was cut off as Ron finally was able to let his anger loose.

"What in the bloody hell is going on between you and Hermione?!" Ron shouted, almost at the top of his lungs "What did you do to her?!"

"I did nothing to her; she figured out she liked me on her own." Fleur said, her voice level and composed as opposed to Ron's emotionally fueled tirade "After all, she's the one who asked if I wouldn't mind being her girlfriend."

'_Well, not so much asked verbally, but he doesn't need to know that.'_ Fleur thought as she gauged Ron's reaction.

"Girlfriend?! The two of you must be out of your bloody minds!"

"Oh, the way I see it, Monsieur Weasley, it is _you_ who has fled your mind."

"Me?! I'm not the one entrancing a girl into thinking-"

"Is _that_ what you believe me to be doing?!" Fleur cut in, her voice slowly growing in anger "Enchanting her? Controlling her?! _Forcing_ her?!"

This was a rather sore nerve for Fleur. She had been accused of such things before due to her veela heritage, which was grossly misunderstood by a good deal many. She hated, no, _loathed_ it when people thought such things of her. Unfortunately, this tended to also bring out her ugly side. Her face, in her anger, began to shift and twist a bit, becoming more avian in nature as she closed the distance between her and the red headed boy.

"You think, just because I could have _any_ boy in this school with but a _thought_, that I would actually stoop so low as to do it?!" Fleur was shouting, her voice slowly becoming harsher and more bestial in nature.

Ron seemed to have the sense to back up from the enraged part-veela, and also had the sense to not say anything to provoke the girl in front of her.

"I have _never_ forced anyone to like me in that fashion! My thrall doesn't even _work_ on girls!" Fleur continued to shout as she and Ron continued to move deeper into the room "_She_ decided she liked me, and _she's_ the one who agreed to go to the ball! _She's_ the one who kissed me first, and _she's_ the one who suggested a longer term relationship!"

By this point, Ron had found out he had no more space to back up to, so he attempted to flatten into the wall as the enraged veela girl got close enough for Ron's eyes to cross to see her.

"You will _never_ suggest to me or anyone else that I'm controlling, manipulating, or doing any such _revolting_ things to her!" Fleur seethed, glaring as a now clawed hand gripped the front of Ron's robes "Do I make myself clear, Monsieur Weasley?"

Ron, once more in a bout of insight, decided to simply nod his head cautiously. It was several moments before Fleur backed away from Ron and released him. Her features began to, slowly, revert to normal.

"…good." Fleur finally said after giving Ron a bit of space, her voice it's normal melodic tone "Now, tell me what the _real_ problem is."

Ron, after swallowing and stepping away from the wall a bit, couldn't find the urge to be angry at the girl before her. Maybe it was fear, or maybe Fleur was exercising her magical influence on him, but he wasn't sure. He also knew that he didn't really _have_ a reason to be so upset, or at least he didn't _think_ he did. He didn't have a problem with that type of relationship, and it's not like the two of them dating really had an effect on him... right?

"I… I don't think I have a reason." Ron admitted, glancing away from the blonde girl before him.

It was silent for a bit, not even the sounds from the rest of the castle made themselves noticed.

"You weren't angry." Fleur said, seemingly out of the blue "You were hurt, and you were venting it as anger."

Ron simply looked at her, confused as to what she meant, or how she would know. Fleur, on the other hand, turned to leave, pausing at the door before she opened it.

"She's your friend; you should support her no matter _who_ she 'fancies'." Fleur said, somewhat cryptically for the younger redhead before she finally left, leaving Ron to think about a couple of things he really needed to.

* * *

Authors Note: Well, it took a bit longer than I had originally planned, but I had to redo the entire deal with Ron and cut a bit of the chapter out to save for the next one. Anyway, let me explain: I didn't want to do a 'Ron and Hermione fight, then don't speak to each other for a month or so only to fight again about a similar thing the next month' scenario. This is a bit more original I think; Fleur handles the situation, possibly better than Hermione could. For those of you who expected major Ron-bashing: sorry to disappoint, but he's (in my opinion) no more flawed than any other character, and it's only a matter of where his flaws lay. Anyway, it's like 2 am when I'm doing the final edit on this thing, so please excuse any major screw ups, and I'll edit it in the morning if it's _really_ bad.

Anyway, reviews, criticisms, suggestions, et al are appreciated, so please leave them!


	8. Rescues at a glance

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter… well… I'd actually have money. I can't remember if I've used that one before or not… oh well

Authors Note: Ok, the only 'complaint' I received about the last chapter was regarding it's length. Like I said before: my chapters have no set length, so they can be anywhere from 2000 (my minimum) to 10000 if I can pull it off before needing a new chapter. Anyway, this one took a bit longer due to my having a job on the weekends… including Friday, and because this chapter will be a bit longer than most others due to it's subject. Anyway, let us begin…

* * *

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_**Speaking entirely in French"**_

Narrative

* * *

_**At A Glance**_

_Chapter 8: Rescues at a glance_

* * *

Hermione never actually found out what Fleur and Ron had talked about, as neither one would give up any details. She did notice that Ron was, most likely, on the losing end of a major argument, as he seemed quiet and withdrawn around Fleur and herself, most likely out of embarrassment. Fleur didn't rub it in though, which all involved were thankful for. Hell, whatever she had said to him before was clearly enough to get him to knock off his normal tirade.

Over the next few days, Ron seemed to become a bit more, well, normal. Hermione did note that he seemed a _lot_ friendlier to Fleur after a while, and though she had suspicions that her thrall had something to do with it to start with, she quickly realized that Ron was beginning to act that way _all_ the time, not just when Fleur was around. Besides, if it was her thrall, then Harry would also have been affected, which he wasn't.

The days dragged on a bit, four days passing before the rest of the students finally returned from winter break. As Hermione expected, she was met with a flurry of questions, congratulations, and supportive comments, as well as becoming the topic of a fair bit of discussion. Hermione didn't feel so bad about it this time, and of course Fleur wasn't fazed in the slightest. It did surprise her when a few girls came up and asked her if she 'thought they were hot', simply to see if they 'looked so good that even other girls would fall head over heels for us'. Hermione made sure to deliberately ignore them whenever they were nearby.

Then of course, there was the rest of the returning Slytherins that were a nuance. It appeared that the vast majority, including Malfoy and his 'crew', did not find Hermione's situation the least bit positive. No, the glares, and occasional comments, made Hermione, and occasionally Fleur, want to blow them to pieces with a well placed blasting curse. A few Ravenclaw students held less drastic opinions of her, but most didn't seem fazed either way. Hufflepuff students were almost entirely supportive, as was her home house of Gryffindor. Overall, she figured she had gotten off with the best of the possibilities.

Then the issue with Hagrid's heritage being outed by Rita Skeeter arose, and all five of those involved were utterly furious with that 'damnable Skeeter woman'. Hermione and Fleur were the most upset of them all, the former because she was put down due to her own muggle heritage quite often, and the latter because she could directly commiserate with Hagrid. She was a 'half-breed', as many would refer to her behind her back, and she knew how hard it was when you are not only a half-blood, or three-quarter-blood in Fleur's case, but are also made to look like a despicable person. Still, Hagrid wouldn't even teach class or see them, so they couldn't really do much at that moment.

Then the next Hogsmeade trip arrived a couple of days later, but Fleur couldn't manage to find special permission to go as well. As such, everyone left, which gave Fleur and Hermione plenty of free time together. However, there really wasn't too much for them to do around the castle at the time. Luckily, they eventually found something to do for the day that was both fun and constructive in numerous ways.

"Expelliarmus!" Fleur shouted, wand drawn and extended before Hermione was ready.

Dodging the spell, Hermione was ready this time.

"Impedimenta!"

"Finite Incantatem!" Fleur shouted, countering the impediment spell "Incarcerous!"

Hermione opted to dodge that one again, but it was only barely that she managed it.

"Petrificus To-" Hermione began, but she suddenly found her legs locked together after an unexpected flash of light, sending her to the ground in an instant "-ow!"

"Non-verbal spells." Fleur said proudly "They are the best choice for dueling."

"I can see why…" Hermione said as she pried herself out of the dirt, muttering the counter to the Leg-locking curse so she could move again "That's another win for you…"

"You sound so downtrodden." Fleur said, her smile weakening as she offered Hermione a hand up "You should not be so. You are very skilled for your age, and I am three years your senior and a practiced duelist. Even then, you provide a good challenge."

"I know, but it just doesn't do too well to lose seventeen times in a row." Hermione replied as she accepted the hand up "I'm supposed to be the 'brightest witch in all of Hogwarts', yet I can't even land a hit."

"Remember what I said that day in the library?" Fleur asked, not releasing Hermione's hand after she made it to her feet "'Skill is not determined by experience alone', remember? In this case, we are both naturally talented, but I have more experience and practice that gives me an advantage."

"I know… I'm just not used to losing is all." Hermione admitted in embarrassment "I don't particularly like failure…"

"Nobody does." Fleur stated as she bent down to Hermione's level, given that she was taller than the girl by a decent margin "But it's only failing if you quit, mon cheri."

Hermione smiled, then softly answered Fleur's silent request and kissed her softly. It wasn't a long kiss, but it was still a pleasant one.

"As overused as that was, you're right." Hermione said with a grin "I think I just came up with a way to win though."

"Oh? What would that-" Fleur began, but then felt something thin and pointed press into her stomach **"…that is cheap…"**

"**But it works."** Hermione replied, tugging on the hand that she still held **"Round eighteen?"**

"**Nineteen; consider this 'round' your win."** Fleur said with a grin, moments before kissing Hermione again, though she was the one taking the initiative this time.

'_Finally! _I_ get to kiss _her_!' _Fleur's mind shouted as Hermione returned the kiss wholeheartedly.

* * *

_**Over a Month Later…**_

* * *

After the second confrontation between Harry and Rita Skeeter, and after talking to Hagrid finally, all seemed to return to normal. Hermione did find herself another thing to consider: how was Skeeter getting this information? She wasn't even allowed on the school grounds, so she had to have an informant… or another way to get in unnoticed.

On another note, Harry and Fleur both needed to train for the Triwizard tournament, and both needed a way to get 'that which was lost' from under water. Fleur had the Bubble-head Charm of course, but Harry didn't know that spell. Then there was the matter of being able to see under murky waters, and then being able to fight under water, and communicate…

"Come on Harry! One more go and-"

"Hermione, I've nearly drowned my self on _purpose_ eight times trying to get this spell to last more than ten minutes." Harry stated, soaking wet and dressed in only swimwear to reveal his lanky form "I don't think I'm going to get this right by _tomorrow_."

"But what else can we do Harry?" Hermione asked in exasperation from her spot on the shore of the lake "You don't have _any_ practice with self transfiguration, and it's not like you can configure scuba gear that has actual air in it."

"Well, you and you're girlfriend are the 'smart' ones, so come up with a bloody idea!" Harry responded in irritation as he glanced about "Is she _still_ underwater?"

"Yeah, but I'm starting to get worried." Hermione admitted honestly "It's been well over an hour now…"

"She's fine. Besides, she'd have floated up by now if she weren't." Harry said as he swam to the shoreline "Mind if we talk for a bit?"

"You should be practicing, not talking."

"Like it'll do me any good at this point." Harry said as he climbed out of the water "I'll just have to be really fast tomorrow, or pray for a miracle."

Hermione let out a sigh; she knew Harry was being honest at the moment.

"Fine. What did you want to talk about?" Hermione asked, levitating a towel over to Harry in the process.

"Well, I was just wondering how you and Fleur were doing." Harry asked as he grabbed the towel and began to dry off "You two seem to be off to a good start."

"Harry, we've been together for two months, four days from now." Hermione said with a smile "I'd say we're doing pretty well."

"Any dates?"

"Well, no, not really, not since the Yule ball anyway." Hermione admitted with an embarrassed blush "We can't really go anywhere after all…"

"Well, there is a hidden passageway to Honeydukes in Hogsmeade-"

"I'm not going to risk getting both of us in trouble just so that we can spend time together in a more interesting location." Hermione stated firmly, a frown on her face.

"Well, then it seems you'll just have to deal with it as is." Harry said with a shrug "Or maybe she can get permission to the next Hogsmeade trip."

"She's a step ahead of you on that." Hermione said, smiling once more "She thinks that'll work this time."

"Well that's good for you two." Harry said with a grin of his own as he took a seat on his towel next to Hermione "Seems everything's smooth sailing for you two, isn't it?"

"Well…" Hermione whispered, as her smile slowly faded once more.

"…so there is a problem?" Harry asked, now concerned.

"Well… yes and no." Hermione explained "Let me explain: you know how Fleur is very… expressive?"

"Yes." Harry responded flatly "Let's just say that 'blunt' is putting it mildly at times."

"I know, but I kind of find it interesting." Hermione replied "She's so confident, enough to say _exactly_ what she means and feels without fear of reprisal… but that's not the problem."

"Then what is exactly?"

"Um, you see, Fleur is a very… affectionate person." Hermione continued, thinking her words over carefully.

"Hm, doesn't surprise me." Harry said, though he did have the decency to blush a bit "She's a rather outgoing girl."

"Yes she is. Well, you see, she likes to show her affections… a lot… at all times." Hermione continued.

Harry didn't say anything, just continued to listen.

"She's not bothered by… trying to kiss me… or being close to me… or holding me… all in the presence of others."

"But let me guess: it bothers you?" Harry finished for Hermione, who nodded in reply "Have you told her?"

"Yes, and she's respecting my wishes." Hermione iterated "But I feel like I'm, well, disappointing her."

"Disappointing her?" Harry repeated, now a bit confused.

"Yes. I feel that she's expecting me to be open to that." Hermione explained as her tone became a bit more melancholy.

"Hermione, a bit more than three months ago you cried yourself to sleep on my shoulder because you found out you were gay and it threw you for a bloody loop." Harry said, rather bluntly at that "You later told me that she knew you were interested in her all along, yet she didn't force you into anything and was perfectly content, right?"

"Yes…" Hermione responded, starting to see where Harry was going.

"I think she knows that you're still coming to grips with things, or at least that you're still nervous." Harry said, adding the last bit when she saw Hermione about to protest "Either way, she's not wanting you to feel uncomfortable with her. At least, that's my guess. Hell, you might not ever feel comfortable with-"

The sound of something surfacing from the water interrupted the conversation, with a soaked Fleur appearing not too far from shore.

"How… long?" Fleur asked, out of breath and still blinking the water from her eyes.

"…almost two hours." Hermione replied, though it was halfheartedly as she was still considering what Harry had suggested.

"Tres bien!" she gasped heading for shore "That should… be enough…"

After finally reaching shore, it was evident that Fleur was now completely drained, having been underwater with not too much to do for two hours. Hermione did find it odd that Fleur's bathing suit was, well, more conservative than her normal clothes. It was silver and a one-piece that, while it did cling nicely to her figure, didn't reveal too much skin. Still, Hermione figured that she was simply being more low-key for the tournament's purposes.

"Come up here and dry off." Hermione said, also levitating a towel over to Fleur as she approached.

"Is that… an offer?" Fleur managed, with a smirk at that.

Her response was for the previously casually floating towel to strike her at a high velocity in the face, accompanied by a furiously blushing Hermione and a hysterically laughing Harry.

* * *

_**The day of the Second Task…**_

* * *

Though the observers were still filing in, Fleur was unable to find Hermione in the crowd. She, as well as the other three Champions, were already set and ready to go, but they had to wait for the judges to lay out the rules and regulations, and then tell them what it was that they had to acquire. She was a bit worried about Harry as well; he had no way to survive underwater for any length of time, at least, not one that she knew of. Still, he seemed to be a rather lucky person to Fleur, so she guessed he'd be alright.

After everyone was finally settled in, the judges began to set the rules. They had an hour, would be judged on methods, time, and placing, and they had to acquire-

'_What?!'_ Fleur's mind screamed as she heard what they had to retrieve _'Oh Merlin, who is it?! Gabrielle?! No, wait-'_

Glancing around again, she saw Ginny, her friends from Beauxbatons, but Hermione was _still_ absent, as was Ron.

"Hermione…" Fleur said aloud, glancing at Harry, who seemed to be just as scared as she was.

The very instant that the 'shot' rang out, the Four Champions were running flat-out towards the water. Fleur's Bubble-head charm took hold about a second before she went under water, in which she was swimming as fast as she could a moment later. The other three champions tore by her, given that they were all Quidditch stars and in relatively better shape than her, but Fleur wasn't concerned with that. She was concerned with getting Hermione out safely, nothing more, nothing less.

After some distance, she saw something that made her blood freeze: Grindylows, three of them, heading right for her.

"Merde!" Fleur swore as she brought her wand up to bare "Petrificus Totalus!"

Though she could do it non-verbally, it was also significantly weaker then. Grindylows had a magical resistance to, well, magic, so she had to perform all her spells verbally. Unfortunately, the spell didn't have an effect on the creature, except for slowing it down a bit. She didn't bother to swear as she shot a stunning hex at another one, but to no avail.

One of them grabbed her right leg, starting to drag her under further as the other two latched onto her other leg and wand arm. She managed not to scream in pain as their claws dug into her, and tried to swat at the light green creatures as hard as she could. She caught the one with her wand arm in the eye, which luckily hurt it enough to let her go.

"Deprimo!" she shouted, aiming her wand at another creature as her face began to morph to it's avian form again.

The creature was blown away a fair distance, but it's claws tore a large gash in her leg that did have her screaming in pain. The other grindylow, which appeared to be somewhat intelligent, let go of her of his own free will and left, saving it from some harm. The one who's eye she had attempted to gouge did not appreciate the warning for what it was, and then grabbed onto her shoulder roughly. Fleur didn't even bother to turn around, opting to shove her want directly into the creature's mouth.

"IMPEDIMENTA!"

* * *

_**On the surface…**_

* * *

Everyone was shocked to see something come bursting from the water, surprised that a champion only took twenty two minutes to save their hostage. However, everyone was then shocked to see that it was not a Champion, but rather a Grindylow who appeared in poor shape and ultimately unconscious. It flew about twelve feet into the air before landing back in the water, sinking slowly to the bottom, but still alive.

* * *

_**Back with Fleur…**_

* * *

The trip was now more difficult, as her leg was bleeding rather badly. She couldn't well attempt to heal it at the moment; she _had_ to get to Hermione, and she was the one currently in last place. Still, bloodloss, pain, and limited mobility were working against her, but she didn't seem to be running into anymore grindylows. She eventually came to a merfolk village, but they weren't very helpful.

Luckily, one of the other champions was, as Cedric swam by holding onto his girlfriend Cho. Though communication was next to impossible between them, he was able to point Fleur in the right direction. Further along, and some time later, she ran into Krum who was carrying out his date from the Yule Ball, though the two of them did not interact. Eventually she found Harry, who had an arm wrapped around Ron's middle, and there was also-

"Hermione!" Fleur shouted, though it was a garbled mess in the water instead of actual words.

Fleur barely even acknowledged the merfolk and Harry as she swam as frantically as possible to get to Hermione. A quick gouging spell cut through her ropes, which had obviously taken Harry a bit more time with the spearhead he was still holding, and she and Harry both took off holding onto their hostage. Naturally, the trip back up would be a bit slower, as it would be harder to haul another person who couldn't provide assistance.

Harry slowed his pace, in order to help Fleur if necessary, but they met no resistance on the way up. They followed the lake floor, so as to find the shore easier, but they quickly ran into one small yet severe problem: there water-breathing supplies were running out. They both went out about the same time, and both took a final deep breath before heading straight upwards, pushing off from the bottom as hard as they could. Harry rose faster, but Fleur also had more air to keep her going. Their lungs were burning by the time they neared the surface. Fleur didn't know if she would make it, and her vision was fading as she neared the light.

'_Come on… come on… come on come on comeoncomeon COME ON!!'_ Fleur was mentally screaming as her body kept telling her she was about to kick it.

Finally, her head, and Hermione's, broke the surface, and she was gasping for air like a madwoman. Hermione seemed to be waking by then, the air most likely serving as the counter to the spell.

"Uh, wha-whereami?" Hermione sputtered as she tried to figure out where she was "Fleur?"

"**Kick!"** Fleur commanded, switching to French in her hurry.

"Fleur, what's going-"

**"Kick! Swim! We need to get to shore!"** Fleur said, still gasping for air to soothe her burning lungs.

Hermione didn't question again, her mind slowly coming to grips with the situation. She did as she was told. The shore wasn't too far away, but Harry and Ron were already nearly their. Fleur didn't care though; she just wanted to get to shore, take care of her leg, and make sure Hermione was alright… but not necessarily in that order. She was about to crack a strained smile when her injured leg began to hurt and burn like hell, moments before she was dragged back under and out of Hermione's grasp.

"Fleur!" was the last thing Fleur heard from Hermione before she began to rapidly descend into the water, sharp claws gripping her leg very tightly.

She hadn't had time to get any air; she was running on reserves, and she didn't have much. She knew it was a grindylow, but she didn't much care right now. The beast had taken her away from _her_ Hermione, had dragged her underwater, and was currently trying it's damnedest to kill her. She wasn't mad though; she was bloodthirstily _furious_.

Her veela blood began to boil, her face twisting into her ancestry's monstrous form as a cruel beak formed on her face, and scales began to form on her back. Those scales quickly burst outwards, producing large, scaled wings that managed to slow her watery descent. Her now clawed hands reached forward, tearing at the monster's eyes, eliciting screams of agony as the creature was blinded by her claws. A moment later, she jammed her wand into it's eye socket, and focused every ounce of magical power she could into one, single, spell… an advanced blasting curse.

* * *

_**On the surface with Hermione…**_

* * *

"Somebody help her!" Hermione shouted as Krum and Cedric began to drag a struggling Hermione from the water "Let me go! _LET ME GO!!_"

"Calm down! They're sending the standby team!" Cedric said as he struggled to hold onto Hermione's arm "You can't do anything as is!"

"That _thing_ has her! You can't just expect me to not-" Hermione began to scream once more, but a loud rumble shut everyone up.

It was coming from the water, and Hermione knew that Fleur was part of it. A moment later, an eruption of water occurred from Fleur's general location, and before anyone knew what was happening, Fleur's altered figure landed in the water ten feet from shore… but she wasn't moving. As Fleur's avian features, including a rapidly fading set of scaled wings, disappeared, Fleur's various cuts, abrasions, torn flesh and fabric, and broken body were visible beneath a thick layer of green blood.

Hermione honestly didn't know what happened next… all she can remember is perfect silence as Cedric, Krum, Harry, and Ron all ran in to help Fleur, leaving her alone on the shore frozen in sheer terror.

* * *

Authors Note: I am going to apologize most sincerely for the length of time this chapter has taken me, and also for the cliffie at the end. Sorry, but I have to end things on a sour note every once in a while, or else where would the fun be? Anyway, the next chapter_ will_ be up within 24 hours to make up for the length of time this one has taken. Reviews etc are appreciated, and remember the poll on my author page that determines the pairing in my next story.

Oh, and as to why Fleur did not get her ass handed to her by grindylows like in the book: she deserved better than that, and I personally think it'd come across as royally lame for her to have to have her girlfriend's best friend save her life for her. Just my opinion though.


	9. Recoveries at a glance

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter… it would be a much longer series… like twenty books long or so.

Authors Note: Well, now that the second task is over, there'll be a bit of fluff till such time as the third task starts. Now, I had a few questions from last chapter that I'll just go ahead and clear up here…

Question 1: Was it veela form or animagus form?

Answer 1: It was veela form. When veela get angry, they turn avian in appearance, grow cruel beaks, claws, and scaled wings. They can also shoot fire from their hands, but that wouldn't have happened under water. I simply made it that Fleur's transformation required a bit more necessity and emotion, assuming that a full-blooded veela could transform at the drop of a hat.

Question 2: Who's blood was the green blood?

Answer 2: It was the grindylow's blood, the one that Fleur blew apart with the blasting curse. I decided that, since everything else is green, why not give it slimy, green blood?

With that out of the way, let us begin, shall we?

* * *

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_**Speaking entirely in French"**_

Narrative

* * *

_**At A Glance**_

_Chapter 9: Recoveries at a glance_

* * *

Fleur saw white light, a lot of white light. She looked around and saw that there was more white, but it wasn't light, as well as grey and black. She tried to sit up, but it hurt to do so, and she couldn't seem to move her arms. Her legs worked, but they still hurt when she moved them. Well, _one_ of her legs worked when she tried to move it. Overall, it felt like she had been on the receiving end of a blasting curse.

'_Oh, wait… I was… more or less.'_ Fleur thought to herself as she tried to move once more, only to notice that her _whole_ body hurt.

A slight moan escaped her as she tried to move, her vision and subsequent hearing clearing up all the while. The white light turned out to be a special enchanted flame above her, and the other white were curtains like those in a medical wing. The grey and black were stone walls, floors, and ceilings, and after a moment Fleur had a good idea of where she was.

"**Hospital wing…"** Fleur said in a low tone **"…that is better than I thought I'd be."**

She tried to sit up again, and though she tried pushing through the pain, it appeared as though her arms were pinned down at her sides. Glancing down along her body, she saw that somebody had changed her clothes out, putting her in one of her looser Beauxbatons uniforms. Also, she was noticing that breathing hurt a bit, but that was dulled by the fact that everything else hurt to a greater degree.

"You're awake." the voice of an older woman said from outside Fleur's line of sight.

She glanced in the direction of the voice, seeing an elderly woman dressed in an almost medieval style nurses outfit come into view a moment later. She likewise assumed that she was the nurse in charge of the hospital wing at Hogwarts.

"This is the hospital wing, non?" Fleur asked, somewhat rhetorically "What happened?"

"Can't remember? That blasting curse you used nearly killed you." the matron said, her face stern as she crossed her arms "What exactly made you think that using a blasting curse at close quarters was an_ intelligent_ idea?"

Fleur simply snorted in response.

"You need to be more careful! I can only heal so much damage." the matron said as she continued to scold her "I wasn't even able to repair all the damage that you did to yourself _this_ time."

"Pardon moi?" Fleur replied, not quite sure what she had heard had been accurate "What is wrong still?"

"You came in here with two comminuted fractures along your _entire _arms, a compound comminuted fracture that was your _entire_ right leg, a collapsed ribcage with several internal injuries, seven large gashes to your right leg and shoulder, a severe concussion, and countless contusions, abrasions, and cuts." the nurse stated as she came over and began a diagnostic spell on Fleur, starting at her legs "Just how much of that do you think I was able to heal?"

Fleur didn't really want to play this game right now; she felt terrible as it was.

"I don't know." she finally relented.

"Hmph… well, all the surface injuries are taken care of, as are the internal injuries and concussion." the nurse responded "I've fixed the bones as well, but they aren't completely set yet. It's not exactly easy to repair bones when there's about fifty pieces of bone the size of an ant floating around in muscle tissue. It took me _twelve hours_ to put your arms back together with the aid of the standby team from St. Mungo's. You are lucky that we didn't have to send you there instead… or back to France in a casket."

Fleur's face paled a bit; she didn't think the blast had been _that_ strong.

"Was… was it really that bad?" Fleur asked cautiously.

"Yes, and it could have been worse, had the other Champions and Mr. Weasley not pulled you from the water before you drowned." the matron stated as firmly as ever "You owe them your life, and you owe your girlfriend both an apology and an explanation at _least_."

"Oh no… she… she saw me like that… didn't she?" Fleur asked, her voice cracking a bit as her fear began to grow "Please madame, tell me she's okay!"

"I won't say she's fine; she's still pretty shaken." the nurse said as she finished her diagnostic spell "She's been in here the entire time you were unconscious, bawling her eyes out for the most part. I only got her to calm down last evening, but even then she wasn't quite calm and composed. I got her into talking though, and that seemed to help calm her down a bit more."

"**Oh Merlin… why the hell did I do **_**that**_** in front of her?"** Fleur said, noting more than one particular thing at that moment "Is she still here?"

"No; I sent her to get some lunch, and bring some back for me. You technically haven't eaten in two days your know." the nurse stated with a hint of a smirk "Luckily, you should be able to eat well on your 'date' tomorrow to try to make up for this _stupid_ predicament you've put yourself in."

"Date? What-" Fleur began, then remembered that, if she'd been in there for two days, that would make tomorrow Saturday, which meant- "Tomorrow's the Hogsmeade trip?!"

"That it is, and Madam Maxime gave you permission to go the day before the Second Task." the nurse explained "I suggest you go tomorrow, regardless of how terrible you'll feel in the morning. I've even prepared a potion to help you cope with the pain."

"…Merci, Madame." Fleur finally said, then paused for a moment "Did… did she say anything about my veela form?"

The nurse's previous smirk was gone in an instant.

"Well, she-"

"Madam Pomfrey? I'm back and brought you something-" Hermione announced as she opened the door to the hospital wing, but she froze and nearly dropped the food she was carrying when she met Fleur's eyes "Fleur! You're awake!"

Despite the pain and guilt/despair she felt, Fleur managed to smile, though she still couldn't get up too easily.

"Bonjour Hermione…" Fleur managed in a somewhat happy tone "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

Hermione approached slowly, carrying a small tray for Madam Pomfrey with both arms. Fleur knew that she wasn't approaching slowly solely for that reason though; she could sense the whirlwind of emotions that Hermione was feeling. Anger, joy, sadness, nervousness, fear, relief, and one emotion that seemed too distant from the immediate emotions for Fleur to figure out what it was at that moment. If this is how she was feeling now, then she must have been an utter wreck the last two days. That thought only made Fleur feel worse about her previously selfish and stupid actions.

"Well, Fleur, you'll remain here until tomorrow, then you will be discharged an hour before you leave on the Hogsmeade trip." Pomfrey said in an attempt to get out of the area ASAP so the two could talk, as Hermione had asked her to do "You'll be stiff, weak, and sore for about a week, and you'll need to take a special potion once a day to help with the pain and the recovery process. Now, I believe that I have other patients to attend to, so if you will, excuse me."

With a slight nod to Hermione, Madam Pomfrey left quickly, making sure to lock the door to prevent them from having any unwanted visitors while they talked. Apparently, the food had just become Fleur's instead, as she hadn't even bothered to take it. Hermione set it down on a table next to Fleur, and then proceeded to sit down at the end of Fleur's bed. Then came silence, which made Fleur all the more uncomfortable.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked, her face nearly expressionless.

"It hurts to move… and breath… and be awake… but it's better than I could have been." Fleur said, her own smile nowhere in sight "…how have you been?"

"Fine. It's better than I could have been." Hermione said, though it came like a slap in the face to hear Fleur's own words thrown back at her, even if it wasn't a directly pointed statement.

"…I'm sorry." Fleur said, though it appeared to go unheard.

"Why did you do that?" Hermione asked, her tone once more nearly blank, though Fleur could tell that that whirlwind of emotions was still there "You're not ignorant, nor are you stupid. Why did you do that?"

"…I wasn't thinking clearly; it was the first thing that came to me." Fleur responded honestly, looking Hermione directly in the eyes in an attempt to remove all doubt.

"You almost _died_, and it's because you weren't 'thinking clearly'?" Hermione said, her voice being hinged with anger "Is that what happens when you turn like that?"

Fleur felt her blood chill at that.

"Non, that is not-"

"Then why the bloody hell did you nearly kill yourself like that?!" Hermione interrupted, her voice rising as she was losing her composure "What the bloody hell were you thinking?! I saw you nearly _die_! Do you have _any_ idea how terrified I was?!"

Tears were forming as Hermione became ever the more emotional, and Fleur had to do everything she could not to crack. Even then it was difficult not to break out in tears herself. Problem one of empathy: the emotions of others affect how your own emotions are.

"I wasn't trying to scare you," Fleur began, forcing herself to sit up slightly despite the pain she felt "and I don't know why I did that… I've never been that far gone before."

That seemed to calm Hermione a bit, but not a whole lot.

"…so it was that form you changed to that made you do it?" Hermione expounded, still highly irate "If you hadn't killed it or knocked yourself out, would you have gotten worse?"

"Non, I can only transform so far as a quarter-veela." Fleur explained, seeing it as a way to disarm the situation "I have to be either bloodthirsty or near-death as far as I-."

"So which were you?"

"…I don't know."

"Bollocks."

"What?" Fleur said, not expecting Hermione to respond that way.

"Saying you don't know is a load of bollocks." Hermione continued, growing more upset now "You knew when you were four that you were attracted to girls, and you can't tell me that at the age of seventeen you don't know if you were out for blood or fearing for your life. So which was it?!"

For a fleeting moment, Fleur wished she hadn't told Hermione about that. Still, she was never one to say things she didn't mean… that last statement notwithstanding.

"**Both."** Fleur admitted as she let herself back down carefully **"He was trying to kill me, but he was also taking me away from you."**

Hermione had no real response to that, for it wasn't quite what she was expecting as a response either.

"**The instinctual veela in me is sometimes a bit… possessive. Sometimes I'll change when someone or something that I care about becomes involved negatively, and when I'm changed, I tend to not think properly and overreact."** Fleur explained quietly **"I've never grown the wings though, and I've never done something so dangerous either. I've never gone past the scales forming on my back before, to be honest."**

Fleur sighed again, mostly in an attempt to relieve the pain in her chest.

"**I don't ever **_**want**_** to change; it's not something I can control."** Fleur continued to explain** "It just… happens. I'd never change if I had the choice."**

Hermione knew Fleur was telling the truth; she _never_ said anything she didn't mean, and she _never_ lied to her about personal matters. How could she stay mad at someone who admitted their faults so readily, despite normally being proud and almost haughty in the eyes of many? Besides, she already took most of her frustrations out on a poor statue out in the hallway… multiple times before finally having sense enough to repair it.

"I don't _ever_ want to see you like that again." Hermione said firmly, though her attempt to stay mad was failing "I don't _ever_ want you to do anything so bloody _stupid_ either. I don't want to see you…"

Fleur didn't have to look at Hermione to know the tears were beginning to fall; she could feel Hermione's sadness almost as well as she felt it. Her eyes began to leave trails down her cheeks as well. She tried to move to comfort Hermione, but all she could manage was to get her 'good' leg to brush against her slightly.

"I'm sorry." Fleur said, and this time it was heard "I didn't mean to do that to you; it was selfish and stupid of me, and I hope you can-"

"I'm still here, talking to you as rationally as possible, aren't I?" Hermione managed with her tears "Besides, Harry's nearly killed himself more times than I can count, and I'm still his friend."

Fleur couldn't help but chuckle at that, which is when she realized that that particular action hurt like hell.

"…it won't happen again, I promise, mon cheri." Fleur said as seriously as she meant it "The _last_ thing I want to do is upset you."

That brought a smile to Hermione's face, though the tears kept falling. Fleur knew it wasn't so much out of sadness as it was relief. Hermione stood up at that point, instead moving to where Fleur's head was, looming over her with a smile as she noticed the tears on Fleur's face as well.

"… you're even beautiful when you cry." Hermione noted out loud "How can you be beautiful all the time?"

"I'd say 'because of you', but that would be 'cheesy', non?" Fleur said, still maintaining some semblance of humor despite the presence situation "This is the part where we kiss and make up, non?"

"I don't know, is it?" Hermione said with the same type of smirk Fleur normally had when she was teasing.

"Oui." Fleur responded as she tried to close the distance between their lips, only to realize that severe pain was a complete 'buzz-kill' "Ow…"

"You alright?" Hermione asked, now concerned instead.

"Oui, now back to the 'kiss and make up' part…" Fleur said, this time waiting for Hermione to close the gap instead, to which the younger girl readily and passionately obliged.

* * *

Authors Note: Well, this is probably my worst chapter, simply because I'm not as practiced at the 'I'm royally pissed at you for doing that' back and forth arguments, and then factoring in Fleur's and Hermione's mindsets… it was hard to pull this off as well as I did, but I still feel it was my worst chapter yet. On another note, I missed my '24 hour maximum limit' by about 12 hours… so yeah, no more deadlines for me. Please please please please PLEASE review! I REALLY want to know how I did on this one.

Also remember the poll on my author page; IT WILL DETERMINE THE PAIRING OF MY NEXT FIC!! Thank you to those who have already voted.


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